


Dust in the Sky

by Batsutousai



Series: Doctor Who/Harry Potter [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-26
Updated: 2010-05-23
Packaged: 2017-10-20 05:52:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 71,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/209455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batsutousai/pseuds/Batsutousai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Hanging by a Thread. Harry has a life to live now with a wife and children, but he can still find time for the Doctor, no matter what he looks like.</p><p>
  <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v692/LadyMarvolo/ForFics/?action=view&current=DustInTheSky_sm--bylifelesslyndsey.jpg">
<img/></a>
</p><p>Followed by <i>The Perfect Sky is Torn</i>.<br/>There is a series of stories about Harry's time with Torchwood which is titled <i>The Future Doesn't Scare Me</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by [Shara Lunison](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SharaLunison).
> 
>  **Disclaim Her:** I own neither the characters of  Doctor Who, nor of Harry Potter. Both worlds belong to their respective creators/controlling entities and I am only borrowing them for my own amusement. No money is being made off of this piece of fan fiction.  
> Some quotes in this fic are taken directly from episodes in Doctor Who, others have been changed to better fit Harry's inclusion.  
> Banners made by [lifelesslyndsey](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2034540/), who is made of awesome. True fact.
> 
> This is a sequel to a one-shot by me titled _Hanging by a Thread_. You don't, necessarily, have to read that fic to understand what's going on, but there are some pre-developed, non-canon relationships that might need explaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I've decided to divide the 10th Doctor up into parts based on who his companion is in the show. I'll try not to completely re-hash _everything_ that happens in each episode where I insert Harry, but some things will have to be mentioned a bit.
> 
> A few of you were a bit thrown by the end of _Hanging by a Thread_ when I said that Harry would never see the Doctor again. I meant, specifically, the 9th Doctor, since they're really, sorta different people. So it's like meeting a whole new person who remembers everything about you from before and you just have to learn to like them.  
>  Anyway, sorry that bit wasn't as clear as it could have been. Here's the next instalment. XD

Harry was bouncing Albus on one knee while James played with some toys from his grandparents when the phone rang. Harry sighed and rested Albus more comfortably, then summoned the wireless phone to him from where it had gotten shoved under some books – Ginny didn't understand the point of having a phone, but Harry and Hermione liked to use them to talk, sometimes, so she tolerated it, but that didn't mean she took care of it in any way, especially since she was as capable with it as Ron was, which said very little.

"Harry Potter," he said, absently wiping a bit of spit from Albus' chin when the baby gurgled.

"Harry! Thank God!"

Harry glanced up at the doorway and, once seeing Ginny wasn't there, muttered, "Rose?"

"Yes. Listen, can you come to my place? The Doctor's... He's not doing well, Harry. Mum and Mickey and I, we're trying, but things are getting weird. The Christmas Tree just tried to attack us and he stopped it and all, but then he sort of collapsed again and... I didn't know who else to call!!"

"Shh..." Harry said, standing up and going in search of Ginny. "Look, I've just got to tell Ginny something came up, have her watch the boys. Where are you, then? The address."

Rose rattled off her address while Harry searched around for his wife. When he couldn't find her with an initial search, he rolled his eyes. "Listen, Rose? Calm down, okay. Give me five minutes. I'll be there. Promise."

"Okay." Rose took a deep breath. "Thanks, Harry."

"Don't worry about it," Harry replied, then hung up the phone and started searching a little more thoroughly for his wife.

He found her outside, staring at the line of their neighbours walking steadily down the road. "Harry?" she whispered, turning to look at him.

"Fuck," Harry swore, then handed over Albus. "Ginny, I've got to go in. I'm sure this is something to do with it. Just stay inside with the boys, okay?"

Ginny swallowed nervously and nodded. "Okay. Be safe."

"You too, sweetheart," Harry replied, kissing her on the cheek. Then he apparated to the address Rose gave him.

There was a giant spaceship in the sky.

"Oh, hell," he muttered, then took off, looking for Rose or the Doctor. "Rose!"

"Harry!" he heard from above him. When he looked up, he saw her and some boy struggling with someone in pyjamas. "We're putting him in the TARDIS! Just... Just stay there for now! We'll be right down!"

Harry sighed and looked around him. It didn't take long to spot the TARDIS and he hurried over to see if the door was open, which it wasn't. He sighed and knocked his head against the door, once, then pointed his wand at the lock. " _Alohomora_ ," he muttered, and the door clicked open.

He held the door open for Rose and her boyfriend (?) and a woman who must have been her mother. And then there was the man Rose and her boy were holding between them. "Who–?"

Rose sighed as she set down the man. "The Doctor," she offered. "Or he was. And now this is him."

Harry blinked a bit in disbelief even as Rose's mum ran back out to get one last thing. "He said, once..." he murmured to himself.

Rose looked up from where she was staring down at the new Doctor. "Harry?"

"When I first met him," Harry continued, staring at the prone form, "he told me a bit about before. He said... sometimes he's a different person. He dies, but his people can be sort of reborn, I guess. Same memories, different person."

"Wait, so you travelled with him?" the boy asked.

Harry eyed the boy, then nodded. "I'm Harry, by the way."

"Mickey." He looked around the TARDIS, then touched the view screen. "What's this, then? Think we can see what's happened? Maybe we've surrendered."

Harry and Rose walked over to see. Rose touched the controls while Harry took the container with the tea and poured himself a cup. "Well, it's doing something," Mickey commented when it started beeping.

"Lovely."

"Are you going to be a misery the whole time?" Mickey asked.

"Yes," Rose agreed drily.

Harry snorted and leaned on Rose's shoulder. "Cheer up, hm? He's still here, just a bit sick."

Rose turned to him, upset. "But he's not _our_ Doctor. He's someone else."

Harry nodded. "Yes. But he's still the Doctor. Different face, different sense of humour, but still the Doctor." Harry looked over at the man lying on the grating. "Don't think that'll ever change."

Rose smiled then, just a bit, and said, "He's not northern any more."

Harry grinned. "More's the pity. I liked that accent."

Rose laughed a bit, then looked around, realising something. "Where's Mum?"

Mickey shrugged. "Getting more food, probably."

Rose sighed and hopped out of her chair. "I'll go get her," she decided. "Never know, it might start raining missiles out there."

"Be careful," Harry offered, walking over to check the Doctor. "So bizarre," he muttered to no one in particular.

Then they heard a scream outside and both Mickey and Harry ran for the door. They found themselves on the alien ship and Rose was being dragged off by one of the aliens. "The door!" she screamed.

Harry turned and shot a spell at it to close it, then he and Mickey were both grabbed as well and dragged up after Rose. There, they found themselves faced with a line of the aliens, as well as the prime minister and one of her aides. Rose was being checked over by Harriet Jones and Harry and Mickey stepped over to them, Mickey shooting his captor a dirty look.

"Prime Minister," Harry said brightly, grin widening when she looked at him and gaped a bit. "It's been a couple months. How're the new recruits treating you?"

"They're still confused by the copy machine," Harriet said, shaking her head. "Auror Potter. You're the last person I expected to see."

"You know each other?" Rose asked.

" 'Auror Potter'?" Mickey repeated, a disbelieving look on his face.

"Government," Harry reminded Rose. "I worked for a bit in your minister's office when she first came to office." He grinned. "Had to leave, though. People started guessing who I was. Caused a right riot."

"I'll bet!" Rose laughed, shaking her head.

"Rose, you know Auror Potter?" Harriet asked, looking startled.

Rose nodded, grinning. "Harry travelled with the Doctor for a bit. He introduced us when that fake alien landed in the Thames."

The alien who seemed to be the leader of their group yelled something loudly and Harriet's aid translated it is, "Enough babbling. The yellow girl, the one with the clever blue box. She will speak for your planet."

"Rose, no!" Harriet hissed as Rose made to step forward.

Rose shook her off, then looked at Harry, daring him to stop her. Harry grinned and pulled out his wand. "I've got your back," he promised and she grinned back before turning and stepping forward to try and talk to the Sycorax leader.

"Is that what I think it is?" Mickey whispered.

"Yes, it's a wand. Yes, magic is real. Yes, I'm really _the_ Harry Potter and no, you can't have my autograph," Harry replied drily, eyeing Mickey with an almost amused look. "Now shush."

They listened to Rose list off the words she knew from travelling with the Doctor, most of which made no sense to the onlookers, and when the Sycorax leader laughed and threatened to kill her, Harry stepped forward and got between Rose and the aliens.

"I'm afraid I can't let you harm her," Harry said quietly. "Least, not without getting through me, first."

The Sycorax laughed again.

"Funny, am I?" Harry muttered.

The Sycorax leader started speaking and the humans all turned their ears to Harriet's aid, who read off the translation, "You think to defeat me with your puny sword. Your people are pathetic and will now bow down to the Sycorax!"

But the humans were frowning by the end of his speech. "That was English," Rose said, coming up next to Harry.

"Yeah, yeah I think it was," Harry agreed, surprised.

"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive language!" the Sycorax leader roared.

"Definitely English," Rose decided.

"I speak only Sycoraxic!"

"Then if we're hearing English, that means..." Rose turned to look back at the TARDIS and the others in the area did as well, even the Sycorax.

As if waiting for their attention to be turned to it, the TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor stepped out, grinning. "Did you miss me?"

The Sycorax leader let out a roar and moved to send his whip towards the Doctor, but Harry snapped, " _Petrificus Totalus!_ " and the alien froze. There was a roar from the crowd and the Doctor peeked around to grin at Harry. "Ello, Harry."

"Ello, git," Harry replied good-naturedly.

"Mickey!" the Doctor said, turning to look at the others with them. "And Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North!"

"She's Prime Minister now, you know," Rose helpfully pointed out.

The Doctor grinned at her, then looked back at Harriet. "Good job!"

"Who are you?" Harriet demanded.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said.

"He's the Doctor," Rose agreed, somewhat disbelievingly.

"Is Doctor like a title that's handed down or something? Where's _my_ Doctor?" Harriet asked.

Harry coughed. "His people have the ability to regenerate after death. They keep their memories of their past lives, but have a new face and personality."

"You _remembered_!"

"Of course I remembered, you git. Someone has to. Not like there's anyone else about that we can ask these questions of."

The Doctor grinned.

A growl came from the frozen Sycorax and Harry glanced at the Doctor curiously. When the Doctor nodded, Harry cast the disarming charm, sending his whip and staff flying, then ended the petrification.

"Witchcraft," the Sycorax hissed.

"Wizardry," Harry corrected, looking almost smug.

What followed was a fair bit of male posturing between the Doctor and the Sycorax leader – Harry seemed content to answer to the Doctor, so the Sycorax leader decided he must be in charge. The Doctor babbled on about all manner of nonsense, freed the controlled humans on Earth, then proceeded to duel it out with the leader for the future of the planet. He lost his hand, but grew back a new one without any trouble, then beat the leader.

Before they knew it, they were all back on Earth and watching the spaceship fly away. Hugs went around, and then Rose's mum, Jackie, showed up and there was a bit more laughing.

And when the alien weapon blew up the retreating spaceship, they all turned to Harriet Jones and told her what they thought of her.

-

"Sure you won't stay for supper?" Rose asked. She and Harry were standing outside her apartment. Her mum and Mickey had already gone in, and the Doctor had gone to get changed and move the TARDIS a bit closer.

Harry sighed and shook his head. "I'd love to, but I just can't. I left Ginny home alone with the boys. Told her to stay indoors. I can't just leave them on Christmas. Not after all this."

Rose sighed and nodded. "I guess. Will you at least stay long enough to say goodbye to the Doctor?"

"Ah, he'd never forgive me else," Harry replied a bit teasingly.

The TARDIS chose that moment to appear in front of them and the Doctor stepped out in a suit and a trench coat. "What do you think?" he asked the two humans.

"You look brilliant," Rose assured him.

Harry grinned and nodded. "I like it. Suits you."

The Doctor winked, then pulled something out of his pocket, which he tossed to Harry. The wizard caught it and looked it over curiously. "It's a mobile phone," the Doctor explained.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I am aware of the muggle world, Doctor. I know what a mobile is."

The Doctor grinned. "I put Rose' number in there, in case you needed to reach us."

"Now I just have to find some way to keep it from Ginny," Harry replied, stuffing it in a pocket. "Thanks."

"Course."

"I didn't know you had a mobile in there," Rose commented.

"Lots of things in there," the Doctor commented. "Whole attic full of junk."

"But you had a mobile this whole time," Rose said.

"Ah, last incarnation never would have used one," Harry pointed out with a grin, then pushed himself off from the building. "Well, I should be off, then. Wife to calm down, kids to put to bed."

Rose nodded and hugged him. "You've got my number now," she told him. "Call if you want to get away from Miss Crazy."

Harry laughed. "I will. And you'll have to ring me when you're in town, yeah? I'll pop by. Maybe stun a couple of aliens for you." He winked.

"Yeah." Rose kissed his cheek, then turned to the Doctor. "Don't take too long, you," she ordered him, then started up the stairs back to her apartment.

The Doctor and Harry just stood there for a long moment, watching each other.

"Look, Harry, I know I'm not–"

"Doctor, shut it," Harry ordered, then pulled him down for a kiss. "And stop being so _tall_."

The Doctor grinned and hugged the smaller human. "Sorry, then. I'll work on it."

Harry grinned back. "I know a spell that would work just fine."

"Let's save that for other aliens, hm?"

Harry laughed. "Oh, alright. And you _will_ tell me when you're about, yeah? No more of my having to listen for the TARDIS or just watch for something to come crashing to Earth?"

"Promise."

Harry nodded, then stepped back. "I'll see you around, then," he said and apparated home.

-

When Harry went back to work after the holidays, an Unspeakable was waiting for him in his chair. Harry leaned against the wall of his cubicle and cocked an eyebrow at the man. "Can I help you?"

"Auror Potter?" the Unspeakable replied.

"The one and only. You're sitting in my chair."

The Unspeakable stood. "Please come with me."

Harry looked at the piles of paper on his desk – he'd just known the Sycorax incident would end up creating more paperwork. Bloody aliens. "Yeah, alright. But make it quick, won't you? I'll have to finish this before I leave tonight, and I don't fancy staying late."

The Unspeakable shrugged, then brushed past Harry to lead him towards the lift.

"What have you done this time, mate?" Ron Weasley called from his own cubicle, grinning madly.

"With my luck, one of my idiots broke the copier in the muggle minister's office again," Harry called back as he stepped into the lift.

They were silent on their trip down to the Department of Mysteries. There, Harry was silently directed towards an office door, then left to continue on his own. Shrugging, Harry opened the door.

Harry blinked at the room, startled. Technology working in a magical building? He let the door close behind him and looked around at a couple of the machines stacked against the walls. All of them were running and some were shooting out various forms of data.

"Welcome, Auror Potter, to alien tech," a voice said from behind Harry, and he spun to face them, wand out. The woman standing there smiled and held up her arms to show she was unarmed.

"Alien tech?" Harry asked, putting his wand away.

The woman nodded. "Like the muggles, we have been finding things that fall to Earth over the millennia and have created safe houses to store them in. Everything in this room was found at a crash site and reconstructed to the best of our ability."

"Hm..." Harry reached out and touched a machine he vaguely recognised from a future space station food centre. "This shouldn't be here," he commented, then touched a button and said, "Chips with vinegar."

The machine let out a quiet whine, then the food appeared in Harry's outstretched hand. He taste-tested one, shrugged and decided it wasn't too bad, for a machine from the future.

When he turned back to the woman, she was staring at him in awe. "How did you...?"

"It's a food processing station from the thirty-fifth century," Harry replied. "Should even exist yet, but there you go. Probably fell through during the Time War or something." He patted it gently. "Long way from home, this machine."

The woman cleared her throat. "Auror Potter, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're not of this time frame."

Harry grinned. "Nah. Just travelled a bit. Chip?" He held out the little cardboard case to her.

The woman took one delicately and nibbled on it as she looked over a clipboard. "Can you help us identify any of these other machines?"

Harry leaned back against the food processor. "To what end?" he asked. "So you can use it against alien invaders like Minister Jones did against the Sycorax?"

"No, no–!"

"Yes, yes," Harry replied, cutting her off with a frown. "You fully intend to use these machines as you see fit. If that means burning a couple of aliens out of the sky, so be it. The only reason you haven't managed a weapon the scale of the muggles is that you don't understand technology. Not like they do. Alien and future tech is the only stuff you can find that will work with magic. So you hook it all up and hope you can find a use for it."

"Really, we just want to use all this for the betterment of wizarding-kind, Auror Potter. You'll be helping the future!" the woman cried.

Harry really wished he had the Doctor's sonic screwdriver at that moment, and then he saw one. It was a bit burnt at one end, but when he walked past the woman, who was still nattering hopefully on about saving the world, and picked it up, it still turned on. He considered the settings on the side for a moment, then walked over to the plug they had all the machines running through. It was protected from magical damage, but it wasn't deadlock sealed. "Brilliant," he muttered, then used the screwdriver to shut it down.

All the lights went out, except for a single emergency glow around the door and the blue glint in Harry's hand. He considered the sonic screwdriver while the woman ran around a bit, banging into things. After a moment, he fired it at the ceiling light and it flickered back to life.

He found himself surrounded by no less than ten robed Unspeakables, plus the woman, who was smiling at him. "Bloody hell," he muttered.

The woman's smile only seemed to get larger and, as far as Harry was concerned, more dangerous. "Well done, Auror Potter. That took less time for you to cotton on than we'd predicted."

Harry scowled at the lot of them. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"

A man stepped forward and held out a cloak. "Welcome to the Unspeakables."

-

Harry was still fuming during his lunch break. He'd gone back to his desk in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement shortly after having a long talk with the Unspeakable director. According to him, the magical world had something a bit like UNIT, which was run out of the Department of Mysteries in various countries. Their job was to find new ways to neutralise alien threats and to help UNIT decipher alien tech. The little game Harry had gone through had been to test him. To see if he would be right for the job.

All he had to do now was accept it. And the director seemed sure he would.

Harry had heard of UNIT before, of course. The Doctor had mentioned them once, in passing, and his own curiosity since then had led him to learn a fair bit more about them. The Unified Intelligence Taskforce. They were created by the United Nations to handle any and all alien threats. Harry couldn't help but wonder if they'd had a hand in the destruction of the Sycorax ship.

And that was a large part of the problem. Harry was willing to kill for the safety of his people – fighting Voldemort had taught him the cost of not doing so – but he'd also learned how to handle aliens from the Doctor, which meant trying to solve things with as little bloodshed first, then bring out the guns later. But UNIT had a shoot first policy, and the Unspeakables' section was the same way. Harry wasn't sure he could work with them. The aurors, yes, the Unspeakables, no.

Harry rubbed at his eyes. "I wish the Doctor was here," he muttered.

"Who's the Doctor?" Ron asked, head poking over the edge of Harry's cubicle. "You look like shit, mate."

"Cheers," Harry replied drily. "And the Doctor is a friend of mine."

Ron blinked, then sighed. "Friend, like the one Ginny's always ranting about?"

Harry snorted. "Does she really? He'd actually like that, you know."

Ron rolled his eyes and summoned a chair so he could join Harry in his cubicle. "Can you blame her? He brought you back a day late for your wedding."

Harry shrugged. "Yes. Perhaps. But that doesn't make him any less a friend."

Ron sighed again. "You could invite him over one time, you know," he suggested. "Have us all meet him properly. Maybe then Ginny will calm down a bit about him."

"Or at least you'll be able to shut her up when she starts," Harry replied and Ron grinned. "I dunno. He's changed a fair bit, really. Bit of a make-over, if you will. I almost didn't recognise him when I saw him over the holiday."

Ron groaned. "Ginny is going to _kill_ you if she finds out you spent time with him on your two weeks off."

Harry shrugged. "So don't tell her."

Ron groaned again.

"Anyway, dunno that I'd be able to get in... contact..." Harry trailed off and pulled out the mobile he'd shoved in his pocket when the Doctor had given it to him. "Oh. I forgot."

Ron blinked at it, confused. "What _is_ it?"

"Mobile telephone," Harry replied, then found Rose on his contacts and rang her. He tapped his cubicle wall and a silencing barrier went up over it. Ron rolled his eyes at him.

Rose picked up after the third ring. "Harry?"

"Hey, Rose! Is the Doctor about?"

"Mmmm... I think he's working on something in the TARDIS. Mum was driving him nuts."

"You're still at home? I'd have thought you'd have left by now."

"Oh, he wants to. _Really_ wants to. But Mum insisted we stay until New Years–"

"New Years was yesterday," Harry helpfully supplied.

"Mmm... And he really wants to leave. Like, now. Except Mum's being... Well..."

"She's being like a mum?"

Rose laughed. "Pretty much. He's so much more _mild_ now. Mum just pulls out her really sad eyes and starts to tear up and he goes all 'Whatever' and walks off to go work on the TARDIS or something."

Harry snorted. "Oh, dear. Mild with your mum, a real hard-arse to the Sycorax. We know who he likes better."

Rose laughed again. "Oh, God! Don't tell Mum, though, she'll go mental."

"You mean she'll rub it in his face every chance she gets."

"That too."

Ron poked Harry on the arm. "One mo', Rose," he said to the phone, then looked over at his friend. "Hm?"

"Lunch is going to be over soon."

"Ah, good point," Harry agreed. "Hey, Rose?"

"Yup?"

"Hunt down the Doctor for me and ask if he'd be willing to be a bit domestic for an evening with my family. You're invited too, 'course. It's just, they want to meet my mysterious friend who Ginny's always ranting about."

"If it'll get him away from Mum, he'll be happy to," Rose agreed.

Harry nodded. "Call me back when you know, okay? I'll try and get a time and date by then."

"Tonight okay? He's really itching to leave."

"I'll check. Call me back when you know."

"Okay. Ta!"

"Ta." Harry hung up the phone and grinned at Ron. "So, think Mum'll be okay with tonight for a dinner party?"

Ron snorted. "Are you kidding? Mum's ready for a dinner party every night. You want me to owl her?"

"Sure. And see if you can catch Dad, too?"

"Course. What about 'Mione and Ginny?"

Harry sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I've got something to take down to the DoM anyway, so I'll get 'Mione. And I can probably owl Ginny."

Ron patted Harry on the back with a grim smile. "Good luck, mate."

"Oh, Ron!" Harry called as his friend started for the owl room.

Ron glanced back, curious.

"What time?"

Ron shrugged. "Six-thirty?"

"Brill."

-

Harry was waiting just at the end of the drive for the TARDIS. He'd mostly managed to keep the Doctor's visit a surprise from his wife, but he had a feeling she'd know as soon as she heard the sound. So he'd asked the Doctor to park his box just outside the wards – partially because of Ginny, partially because he wasn't sure what the TARDIS and the wards would do to each other.

After about five minutes, the TARDIS finally materialised and the Doctor and Rose tumbled out.

"Did you get plastered first?" Harry wanted to know.

Rose shook her head and Harry had to catch her when she stumbled. "Whoa. No. He just hasn't quite got the hang of driving yet, so she goes a bit all over."

The Doctor grinned and pulled Harry into a hug. "Lovely to see you, Harry! Thanks for inviting us out!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Let's see if you're still thanking me after Ginny realises who you are."

The Doctor's grin faltered briefly, but he forced it back by shear will. "After Jackie, I'm perfectly content to face down your wife."

Harry patted his arm. "Brave man. Oh! And if she starts up on any name calling or says you're a pervert, let me know. My godson's there and I really don't need him picking up on that kind of language. His grandparents will _kill_ me."

"You have a godson?" Rose said, then, "Wait! Remus' kid, right?"

"Teddy," Harry agreed. "You read them."

"You know you're supposed to have a daughter too," Rose offered with a smug look.

Harry snorted. "Yeah. Sometime next year, apparently. S'all I know. Well, I know I'm somehow going to talk Ginny into letting us call her Lily..."

"Good luck with _that_ ," the Doctor offered.

Harry and Rose both laughed.

A woman suddenly stormed out of the house and towards them. "Harry James Potter!"

"Oh, bugger," Harry muttered, making Rose and the Doctor snort in amusement.

Ginny stopped directly in front of her husband. "What's this I hear about you inviting that perverted, old–"

"Oiy! Who're you calling old?" the Doctor demanded.

"Thank you, Doctor." Harry sighed.

Ginny looked suspiciously up at the Doctor, then looked back at Harry. "What's this, then? You magicked him to impress my family?"

"Ah, no. It was all him," Harry replied. "And they're my family too. Moreover, _they're_ the ones what wanted to meet him, so if you've a complaint about my guests, take it up with Mum. Now, I'm starved, so why don't we go inside and eat?"

Ginny glared at Harry and the Doctor for a moment, then spun around and stared stalking back towards the house.

Harry sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "That woman," he complained.

The Doctor grinned. "TARDIS."

Harry smiled at him. "Oh, come on. Time to face the music."

Rose skipped forward so she could walk next to Harry. "You okay?"

Harry smiled at her. "Fine. It's just been a very long day. Which reminds me!" He did a full stop and spun to face the Doctor, who blinked at him in surprise. Harry pulled out the sonic screwdriver he'd filched from the Department of Mysteries and asked, "Can you fix this?"

The Doctor pulled out a pair of spectacles and looked it over. "Should be able to, yeah." He glanced back up at Harry. "Where'd you get it?"

"Department of Mysteries," Harry said grimly. "They've got their own little magical UNIT down there."

"Does UNIT know about it?" the Doctor asked, putting the screwdriver away.

"So far as I can tell, yes."

"Oooh... Not good," the Doctor decided, putting away his spectacles. "How'd you find this out?"

"They want me to join them."

The Doctor rose and eyebrow at him. "Oh? What'd you say?"

"Haven't. They gave me a week to decide before they Obliviate me." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Doctor, they've got a food processor from the thirty-fifth century down there."

The Doctor grimaced. "We'll talk after supper," he decided.

"Thank you," Harry replied, forcing a smile and turning back to Rose, who was watching them with a concerned look. "Come on, Rose. We've got to be cheerful for the family."

"Here we go," Rose agreed with a smile, then took Harry's offered arm and let him lead her into the house. The Doctor followed behind them, whistling.

-

Dinner went remarkably well, all things considered. Molly Weasley had set up the seating so that Ginny sat next to her, and she would shut Ginny up when she became a problem. There was some minor surprise at the Doctor's change of appearance – some of the family remembered him from the wedding – but he just cheerfully asked if they liked his new face. "Got it changed for Rose's mum. She doesn't like me much, not really. But she's better now. New face. It works wonders." And everyone had laughed.

There were, of course, the expected questions: "What do you do for a living?" from Molly.

"Travel, mostly," the Doctor said with a grin. "My parents left me quite the inheritance and I invested it in a couple of businesses while I was in college, so it's only been growing since then. Gets a bit boring on my own, of course, so I occasionally take someone with me. Show them the world. Works out well on both behalves: They get to see more of their world, I get someone to blabber on to."

"What did you study in college?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, little bit of everything, really. Bit of the sciences, some medicine, couple languages... That sort of stuff."

"All muggle?" Arthur asked, leaning forward curiously.

The Doctor blinked, then looked at Harry, who snickered. "The Doctor and Rose are both muggles," he commented.

There was a bit of an uproar at that, since they'd been acting so calm about the little bits of magic in the house. Most muggles – and muggleborns to some degree as well – never quite got over seeing magic performed. Of course, what the Weasleys didn't know was that the Doctor was an alien and Rose had seen the stars, so a bit of magic wasn't much to them.

Arthur quickly got over the shock and looked rather like he wanted to ask any number of questions pertaining to muggles, so Harry said, "Dad, quiz them after dinner, yeah?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." Arthur smiled a bit sheepishly.

"So, did you get your doctorate in medicine, or science?" Hermione asked.

"Both."

"So, how did you and Harry meet?" Molly asked, glancing between the two.

Harry and the Doctor glanced at each other and Harry grimaced. "I was sitting in the park and he was stumbling down the road. Got caught up in our war a bit. Took care of him for a few days and he suggested going to see the world a bit. I've never been off the island, so I followed him. Lots of fun."

"What about you, Rose?" Hermione asked the girl. "How'd you meet the Doctor?"

Rose smiled mischievously and the Doctor sighed. "He blew up my job."

"He what?!"

Harry snorted and looked at the Doctor, who looked a bit resigned to his fate. "You really do pick them, don't you?"

"Shut up."

Harry laughed and looked around the Doctor at Rose, who was grinning. "Henriks?"

"How'd you know?" Rose asked.

"That was _you_?" Ron asked, disbelieving.

"We had clean-up duty," Harry explained. "Some of the mannequins were still moving a bit, so they called our department in. Thought it was magic."

"It wasn't, though," Ron commented drily. "No magic on those things. Thought it must have been some sort of muggle thingie."

The Doctor looked curiously at Harry, who shrugged. "Department of Mysteries took it when it kept trying to kill people even in the Ministry building. That was the last I heard about it."

Hermione cleared her throat. "It stopped moving the next night. They'd contained it and set a watch on it."

"Same night more mannequins were trying to kill people?" Ron asked, frowning. "Got called to look into that one, too, but they'd stopped before we got there."

Harry looked at the Doctor, but he shoved his thumb at Rose. "Good job, Rose," Harry said and grinned. She grinned back.

"So, what was it, then?" Hermione asked.

"Top secret," the Doctor replied with a straight face.

Hermione frowned for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Oh."

" 'Mione?" Ron asked, looking a bit worried.

"Oh," Hermione repeated, looking at the Doctor as if she was seeing him for the first time.

The Doctor leaned over next to Harry and murmured, "I think she works with UNIT, then."

Harry sighed. "Yeah." He stood from the table. "Sorry, everyone. 'Mione, a word?"

Hermione, eyes a little wide, stood herself and followed Harry up the stairs to the guest room. After Harry had warded the room, she said, "He's _that_ Doctor, isn't he? The one who works with UNIT sometimes against alien threats? He's got a blue box?"

"The TARDIS," Harry agreed. "Look, Hermione, you _mustn't_ tell anyone. Promise."

"I have to tell my superiors," she insisted.

Harry shook his head. "No. They already know."

"They do?"

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Well, they know _I_ know him, at least."

Hermione blinked. "They recruited you, didn't they?"

"Yes."

"Will you join?" she asked. "Please? I'd like to have someone who I can talk to about this stuff. Harry, it's _mindboggling_. I mean, some of the stuff they have down there–"

"Oh, I've seen the stuff they have down there," Harry said a bit more sharply than he'd intended. When Hermione flinched back, he sighed. "Look, 'Mione, I'm sorry. I don't really want to join the Department. I don't like their methods."

"It's the same as with the aurors," Hermione insisted.

"No. It's not."

"It _is_. You find a hostile alien, you go and take care of them. Find a way to do it better next time."

"But maybe they're not here to be hostile," Harry snapped. "Maybe they want to leave in peace here, but their culture is just so different they're doing all the wrong things. It's like if someone from our country went to Japan or something. What we consider proper behaviour here, isn't there. There are bound to be problems. But you lot, you don't try smoothing things over. You just go in wands and guns blazing and maybe, if one of them lives, you ask them what they're doing here."

"And the aurors do things differently, do you?" Hermione snapped back.

" _Yes_! We collect facts first. And, more often than not, we face repeat offenders, or people who know our laws and are purposefully disobeying them. And, even then, we don't go in wands blazing. Look, consider the Sycorax ship what just appeared over London last week. What would have been your chosen course of action?"

"Order them to go away before we fire. It's basically what we did, too."

"What, the ordering, or the firing? 'Cause I saw the last and I'm _not_ happy."

"They threatened to kill a third of the population!"

"It wouldn't have worked!"

"We didn't know that!"

A knock came at the door and they both turned to glare at it. After a moment, the door popped open and the Doctor poked his head in. "I can hear you yelling, by the way."

Harry sighed and waved him in. "We're arguing about UNIT's way of doing things with aliens."

"Good luck," the Doctor commented. "I've been trying for decades."

Harry muttered under his breath for a moment and shook his head. " 'Mione, have you ever met an alien face-to-face before?"

Hermione frowned at him. "No. Don't think so."

"Great. Hermione, this is the Doctor. He's an alien."

The Doctor grinned. "Hello."

"Oh, he doesn't count!"

Harry just glared at her.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and walked over to lean on Harry, smiling when the wizard just rolled his eyes at him. "So you're part of the Department of Mysteries working with UNIT?"

Hermione stared at him for a long minute before nodding. "Harry told you that?"

"Yup."

Hermione frowned at Harry. "You're not supposed to tell anyone outside the Depart–"

"The Doctor works for UNIT," Harry reminded her tiredly.

"And I've been arguing with them since their inception about their shoot first policy. Harry, it's not going to work."

Harry sighed and looked somewhat helplessly at Hermione. "Yeah, okay. I can understand UNIT, but, Hermione?"

Hermione sucked some hair into her mouth to chew on. "I don't go out and fight them, myself," she admitted. "I assist with the tech we find. But I've seen one of the few groups who tried talking peacefully with the aliens they were sent out to deal with, and only one of them came back alive. They had to send out another two groups to deal with the aliens and bring back the pieces of the first group."

"Some aliens are here to cause trouble," the Doctor agreed quietly. "Far too many, if you ask me. Perhaps, in some cases, using force is the only solution, but I don't think it should always be the _first_ solution. That's just me. And maybe I've worn off on Harry with that." He smiled at Harry, who smiled back. "I'm glad about that, personally. But it's still something of a personal choice. Just like it's a personal choice to not work with your department, Hermione. You can still talk to him about what's going on, since he knows aliens, but he doesn't want to join."

Harry shrugged. "There're ways around Obliviate," he agreed.

Hermione wrung her hands. "Harry, what did they tell you about the Obliviate?"

Harry blinked. "Just that it would happen if I said no. Why?"

Hermione sucked more hair into her mouth to chew on. "When they Obliviate you, they'll aim for everything, Harry. Everything that made you a candidate for the Department. Everything you know about aliens. And if you find a way around the Obliviate, they'll just do it again. They'll keep doing it 'til you stop. They don't want anyone who knows about them and aliens outside of the Department."

"They _what_?" the Doctor asked very, very quietly. When Harry and Hermione looked at him, they both flinched back from the pure fury in his eyes.

"Doctor," Harry tried.

The Doctor turned to Harry, forcing himself to calm down some. "I'm going in with you tomorrow. And you're going to take me down to the Department of Mysteries and I'm going to have a nice, long talk with them."

Harry nodded wordlessly.

The Doctor grinned. "Brilliant! Now that's figured out, let's go back down, hm? They're probably wondering what's taking us so long!"

As they filled back out, Hermione touched Harry's shoulder. "Do you think he can protect you, then?"

Harry shrugged. "I think he'll try his best, and the Doctor's best is pretty impressive." He grinned at her. "If that doesn't work, he'll probably just shove me in the TARDIS and you'll never see me again."

Hermione sighed and shook her hair. "Aliens."

Harry laughed.

-

The Doctor was waiting for him when Harry apparated outside Rose's place. He didn't look pleased with the world, but he managed an honest smile for Harry. "Hello there, Harry. How's Miss Ginny?"

"She still hates you," Harry assured the Doctor with a grin. "Do you think it'll be safe to apparate you? Don't want to do it, then find you've left a heart behind or some such."

The Doctor grinned a bit wider. "Oh, I should be fine. You lot don't need to study human physiology to apparate, so it shouldn't be a problem for me."

Harry nodded and took the Doctor's arm. "Just checking. No Rose?"

"Nah. She's upstairs, talking to Jackie. We're leaving tonight."

"Ah. I'll miss having you around."

"You've got Rose's number," the Doctor reminded him. "We're never too far."

Harry nodded again, then apparated them to the Ministry atrium. "Alright. I'll have to check you in as my guest."

"Of course," the Doctor agreed, shoving his hands in his pockets and following Harry over to a desk set up to the side of the lifts. "Place looks a bit different from the books," he commented.

"Had to re-do it after the war," Harry replied. "Talked Shacklebolt into doing away with that bloody fountain." He turned to the wizard behind the desk. "This is the Doctor. He's my guest for the day."

"Doctor who?" the wizard asked.

"Just the Doctor," the Doctor replied, grinning.

"Right." The wizard muttered an incantation under his breath, then held up a hand. "Wand?"

"Oh, sorry," Harry said a bit sheepishly. "He's a muggle."

The wizard turned to look at Harry like he was mad. "A _muggle_?"

Harry shrugged. "Yup."

"Bloody hell, Potter," the man muttered, then handed over the badge he'd made and waved them on.

Harry handed the badge over to the Doctor. "I'll have to go up to the office first. Let them know I'm in. Then we can drop by the Department." He glanced at the Doctor, who was admiring the badge. "Is that okay?"

"Look, it even says I'm here being your guest," the Doctor said, pointing at the writing on the badge.

"Doesn't blink at food that serves you, but is amazed by a button," Harry muttered, taking the button and pining it to the Doctor's coat. "Did you hear me?"

"Auror office first, then Department," the Doctor recited.

Harry sighed and led them into a lift. "Sometimes I wonder about you. Git."

The Doctor laughed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

After checking in with his boss and waving Ron away when he demanded to know why Harry brought the Doctor to work, the two made their way down to the Department of Mysteries. In the long hallway towards the door, Harry stopped them. "Do you actually have a plan, here?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Not really. Do I ever?"

"Mmm... Good point," Harry decided, then continued on.

In the room of doors, they paused and watched the doors turn. "Do you know which one it is?" the Doctor asked.

"Not really," Harry admitted. "But anyone in the Ministry can technically come down here and call out the section they want and the door will open."

"Technically?"

"The head of that section usually has a list of who can and can't request their section. Can't go in if you're not on the list."

"Clever."

Once the room stopped spinning, Harry called out, "Auror Harry Potter for the Department of Extraterrestrial Life."

"Bit of a crap name," the Doctor commented as a door popped open.

Harry shrugged. "Perhaps."

"Another good reason not to join them."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Ah, Auror Potter," the woman who'd run the test on Harry said, coming to meet them at the door. "And this must be the Doctor."

The Doctor grinned. "Hullo."

"You've come with your answer, then?" she asked.

Harry cocked his head to one side. "I have," he agreed.

Then his phone rang.

"Oh, bugger. Sorry," Harry said, then picked up. "Rose?"

"Rose?" the Doctor said as well, frowning.

"Harry! Have you told the Department of Mysteries your answer yet?" Rose asked.

"Mmm... No. Why?"

"Thank God. Here, talk to yourself," she said.

There was the sound of the phone being handed over, then, "Okay, Potter, listen to me–"

"Future, or past?" Harry demanded.

"Future. Twenty-twelve. It's the day the torch-bearer passes by Dame Kelly Holmes Close. Remember that."

Harry nodded. "Okay. Consider it remembered. Why?"

"Can't tell you, might ruin things. Future vs. past. You know how it is."

Harry grinned at where the Doctor was frowning down at him. "Oh, I know. So, why are you calling me?"

"Join the Department."

" _What_?"

"You heard me. Join them. You can work out some sort of agreement with them about not always working with them; Merlin knows we're too visible to work with them full time. But you need to be on the staff," future Harry insisted.

"Why?"

The was a pause, then, "The Doctor can't hear this bit. Put up a silencing ward."

"He proved last night he can hear through those," Harry pointed out.

"Only when you're shouting," the Doctor replied. "I know the laws of time. Put it up."

Harry glanced at him, then nodded and put the ward up, adding a localised silencing charm on top of it. "Done. Why am I joining the Department?" he asked as the Doctor turned to explain what was going on to the woman who was waiting on them.

"Because you need to be on the Valiant the day the Toclafane arrive, and only UNIT troops can be up there. Do you understand?" future Harry said, dead serious.

Harry swallowed and looked at the Doctor, who smiled back at him. "I understand."

"Good luck, Harry," future Harry said.

Harry laughed. "You too. Say hello to Rose and the Doctor. From both of us."

"I will," future Harry agreed, and he sounded so horribly sad that Harry almost asked what would happen.

But he didn't. He just hung up the phone and took down the ward. "Right. I'll join your department, _however_ , we all know I'm too visible to leave the aurors."

"You'd like to suggest something different?" the woman asked, her expression almost disbelieving.

Harry smiled. "Something of a part-time deal. I work for you, but I also work for the aurors. So, I dunno. I'm your eyes in the aurors or some such."

The woman sighed and shook her head. "No. Either you work for us, or not at all."

Harry considered her for a moment, then looked at the Doctor and cocked an eyebrow. The Doctor grinned and turned to their host. "You work as a part of UNIT, right?"

"We do," she agreed, smiling.

"So you'd answer to an order from a ranking UNIT member?"

"Yes."

"And I'm a member of UNIT," the Doctor continued as her face fell, "A pretty high ranking member if I remember correctly. So I could, technically, order you to take Harry on as just part-time. What was it?" He glanced at Harry. "Ah, yes. Your eyes in the aurors." He turned back to her with a grin. "Couldn't I?"

The woman grit her teeth. "Yes. Sir."

"Brilliant!" The Doctor turned to Harry with a winning smile. "You're welcome."

Harry laughed. "Never doubted you for a moment." He looked at the woman, who looked rather displeased. "Is there paperwork or anything I need to sign?"

She sighed and looked down at the papers on her clip board. "Yes. They'll have to be re-written, of course." She glared at the Doctor, who just smiled back. "I'll have Mrs Weasley deliver them to your desk. For now, I need an oath that everything you learn while working for this department won't be shared with anyone outside of us."

" 'Us' includes UNIT?" Harry asked.

The woman sighed and nodded. "And, yes, the Doctor."

Harry glanced down at his cell phone. With this promise, he could only ever talk with the Doctor or Hermione about aliens. That was it. No talking to Rose. He swallowed, then looked back up, determined. "I, Harry James Potter, swear upon my magic that I will only share the secrets of the Department of Extraterrestrial Life and UNIT with those either working for or authorised by either a ranking member of UNIT or the Department of Extraterrestrial Life. So mote it be."

"So mote it be," the woman agreed grumpily, then turned around and walked away from them.

Harry smiled at the Doctor. "What do you think, oh member of UNIT. Is Rose authorised?"

The Doctor grinned and hugged him. "Brilliant!" he whispered. "Yes, Rose is authorised. All because I say so."

Harry nodded, then motioned that they should leave the department. Back out in the room of doors, he glanced at the Doctor. "Are you heading out now?"

The Doctor considered that, watching the doors streak past. "Probably. I really only came to make sure you were okay." He looked back at Harry as the doors stopped. "You could take me back. Need someone to."

Harry nodded. "Exit," he said, and one of the doors popped open. They walked out and up to the lifts, which they took to the atrium. There, Harry apparated them back to Rose's place. "Well," Harry said, "I should be heading back to work, then."

The Doctor sighed and nodded. "I'll be back before you know it," he promised.

Harry smiled. "I know." Then he apparated back to the Ministry.

-

A couple of months later, his phone rang. "Rose? What are you lot up to, then?"

"Oh, saving Queen Victoria from werewolves, letting myself be possessed. The usual," Rose laughed. "We're back in London now. Checking out my old school."

Harry leaned back in his desk chair and waved at the junior auror who popped stuff onto his desk. "Oh? What's going on there?"

"UFO sightings, too clever students. The usual."

Harry laughed. "Sounds brilliant. And I'd love to help, but I'm a bit swamped right now."

"Oh. Well, we're doing a bit of night-time investigating tonight. Sure you've got too much to do?" Rose suggested.

Harry hummed, flipping through the newest pile of paperwork. "You drive a hard bargain, Miss Tyler. Well, fine. What's the school, then?"

"Deffry Vale," Rose reported.

Harry nodded. "Call me tonight when you're starting making trouble. I'll let you know then if I can make it."

Rose laughed. "Will do!"

"Ta, then."

"Ta!"

-

Harry was, in fact, able to make it over. But not until they'd left the school. He met them, instead, at a café. "Good evening!" he called, stepping inside.

The Doctor looked up from fixing what looked to be a metal dog. "Harry! How'd you know we were about?"

"Rose called me this afternoon," Harry replied, walking over to Rose and hugging her before stealing a chip. "You didn't tell him you'd called me?"

"You weren't sure you'd make it," Rose replied, moving her chips out of his reach. "Get your own chips."

"Nah. Rather steal yours. Hey, Mickey."

Mickey nodded. "Harry. Didn't think you'd make it."

"Ah..." Harry shrugged. "Didn't think so either." He grimaced. "Bit of a difficult night."

"Oh?" the Doctor said. "What happened?"

Harry shrugged again. "Bit of this, bit of that. You've a metal dog and a confused woman, you know."

The Doctor grinned and straightened from his work. "Harry, this is Sarah Jane Smith and K-9. Sarah, Harry Potter."

Harry smiled at her. "Sarah Jane Smith. He told me about you. Snuck into UNIT using your aunt's name."

"Oh, so he told you, but not me?" Rose demanded.

Harry shrugged. "I had him trapped in my house for four months."

Mickey snorted. "That's lovely."

Sarah Jane cleared her throat. "Harry Potter?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "Yup. From the books. Real thing. In the flesh and all that. So, why are you playing with a metal dog?"

"Trying to fix him," the Doctor muttered. The was a faint click, then the lights that acted as K-9's eyes lit up and he rose his head. "Now we're in business!"

"Master," the dog responded.

"He recognises me!" the Doctor exclaimed, then he waved at where Harry was standing with Rose and Mickey. "Rose, give me the oil."

The Doctor had K-9 identify the oil they found in the cafeteria, which allowed him to recognise the aliens as Krillitanes. After explaining what they were to his group, they sort of separated, Sarah Jane and Mickey going to put K-9 away while Harry stayed back with Rose and the Doctor. And Rose wasn't too happy.

"So how many others are there?" she asked. "Besides Harry and Sarah Jane? How many?"

"Rose," Harry tried.

"No, answer me!"

The Doctor sighed. "A few. Why does it matter?"

"Because if you're just going to leave us all behind like that–"

"Rose," Harry said, "stop it."

"You do that with all of us?" Rose demanded, pushing the Doctor in the chest. "With me too?"

"No," the Doctor said, pained. "Not with you. Not with either of you," he added, looking at Harry to include him.

Harry just smiled and shook his head.

"But you were that close with Sarah Jane once. And you never mention her."

The Doctor sighed. "I don't age, Rose. I regenerate. But humans decay. You whither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you–" he choked and cut himself off.

"What, Doctor?" Rose asked, shrugging off the hand Harry put on her shoulder to try and get her to leave the Doctor alone.

"You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."

There was a sudden screech and they looked up as a creature on a building took flight, right towards them. They ducked down and watched it fly off without touching them.

"Was that a Krillitane?" Sarah Jane asked.

"It just flew off. We didn't even touch it. Why'd it do that?" Rose said.

The Doctor just stared after it for a long moment, then cleared his throat. "We should move on," he said.

"And I should head home before Ginny calls the office," Harry agreed, shaking his head.

Rose looked at him, pain in her eyes. "You're leaving?"

Harry sighed. "Give us a moment," he said to the Doctor and the two Smiths, then pulled her back. "Rose..."

"He left you behind, didn't he?" she hissed.

"No! No, he didn't. He wanted me to keep travelling with him, but I couldn't. I have a life, Rose. I have people to protect, a world to rebuild. Even back then, when I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with them. I had to go back. But even then..." Harry shook his head. "Rose, he's _nine hundred years old_. We can't live that long. Can't even get close. Either he watches us die like he watched his people die and suffers because of it, or he just lets us go. Hopes we live a wonderful life without him. With pain or with hope, that's how he leaves us. Which would you rather, if you were in his place?"

Rose swallowed. "I don't want to leave him."

"No," Harry agreed. "Neither did I. And he's a wonderful, wonderful man. But you have to be ready, one day, to let him go. You _must_. It will hurt, but it will happen. And there's nothing we can do about it."

"He still comes to visit you, though," Rose whispered. "Drops in, from time to time."

Harry nodded. "I find him, used to be. Stop by alien incidents and hope he shows up. Hope I happen to see him. Doesn't always work, but sometimes it does. And now you ring me when you're here. And that's wonderful. I love that I can see you both. But it won't last. He'll have to move on. For one reason or another, he'll just have to."

Rose shook her head, eyes damp. "No..."

"Oh, Rose..." Harry pulled her into a hug. "Rose, sweetheart. I promise you, when he finally leaves, I'll still be here. You'll always have me. And then, in the future, we can go about hunting him down together." He pulled back and smiled at her. "Beat him over the head for leaving you. Okay?"

Rose nodded. "Promise?"

"Promise," Harry said, smiling. "But for now, you enjoy life! You've got all of time and space to see, not to mention a school full of super-smart students to save."

Rose laughed and hugged him again. "Thanks, Harry."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for." He led her back over to where the others were waiting.

"Alright?" Mickey asked, looking worried.

Rose nodded and wiped at her eyes. "Yeah."

"Well, I'll be off. Don't blow anything up," Harry ordered, waving a finger in the Doctor's face.

The Doctor grinned. "No promises."

"If I have to clean up another one of your messes, I'll hang you upside down in nothing but your pants. You understand?"

"Perfectly. If I blow something up, avoid you for a while," the Doctor replied with a mad smile.

"Git." Harry rolled his eyes and looked over at everyone else. "Mickey, great to see you again. Sarah Jane, lovely meeting you. We should meet up some time. Talk a bit about the old loon."

"Oiy!"

"I'd like that," Sarah Jane replied.

Harry grinned and waved, then disapparated.

-

He did, in fact, have to help clean up the mess left behind, and the Doctor had, indeed, made himself scarce. Harry had considered calling Rose so she could ream the Doctor a new one, but ended up deciding not to. Instead, he called up Sarah Jane and they went out for tea a few times, both relieved to have someone they could talk to about the Doctor. (Harry had also been pleased to find that she had once been a member of UNIT, which meant he could tell her whatever he wanted.)

About a month after the Doctor blew up the school, ghosts started appearing around the world. They didn't seem to come to the Ministry, but they were everywhere else, including St Mungo's. Three days after the start of the phenomenon, Harry got a memo from the Department of Mysteries saying, "TORCHWOOD BUSINESS. KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT."

So, of course, Harry tried to find out what Torchwood was, which proved to be not a lot of help. Since the ghostly forms didn't seem to be hurting anything, he didn't bother calling Rose and the Doctor, but he did tell Ginny to keep them out of the house and away from the boys, which she did most of the time.

Several months later, the ghosts took a proper form and started walking around, rounding up the people of the Earth for some sort of 'upgrading'.

That's when Harry finally tried calling Rose, but the line was busy. "Dammit, Rose," he muttered, making his way towards the lifts and the Department of Mysteries.

"Harry!" Ron shouted, jumping up to walk with him. "Do you have any idea what's going on out there?"

"None. I'm going to try and find out," Harry replied, calling the lift.

"How?" Ron asked.

Harry took a deep breath. "Ron, know how Hermione always tells you she can't tell you?"

"Yeah?"

"This is one of those times," Harry said as the lift doors closed behind him.

Down in the Department, people were running around everywhere. Hermione practically ran into him, but he grabbed her and managed to keep her upright. "Harry! Thank, Merlin! Have you heard from the Doctor?"

"No. Line's busy. Look, do you lot have _any_ idea what's going on?"

"None," Mary-Beth reported, walking over with her constant clipboard. She'd been the woman who tested Harry all those months ago and was now his superior in the department. "Keep trying the Doctor. Knowing him, he's right in the middle of this."

"Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of," Harry muttered, pulling out his mobile and trying again. He got nothing, not even a busy signal, so he shook his head and looked at Mary-Beth. "Tell me about Torchwood."

"Top secret organization created by Queen Victoria because of the Doctor."

"Oh, it would be his fault."

"They're a bit like us, but they've got more of a complex about themselves. Like to think they're better than us government agencies."

"Not government, so, on their own? No higher authority?"

"Used to be the Queen, but they've since cut loose." Mary-Beth picked a slip of parchment out of the air and attached it to her clipboard. "That's all we know about them. Now _keep trying the Doctor_."

"I'm trying, I'm trying," Harry replied as Mary-Beth walked away. He dialled again, only to get that same nothing. "Dammit, Rose."

Hermione touched his shoulder. "Maybe it's the Department shielding," she suggested. "Let's go upstairs. See if that helps."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Mary-Beth! I'm going back upstairs!"

"Memo if you hear anything!" she shouted back from inside a crush of people.

Harry and Hermione made their way back out of the Department. "I knew those ghosts were bad news," Harry muttered. "Told Ginny to keep them out of the house. With my luck, they've already upgraded her, or some such."

"Stop that," Hermione ordered. "Ginny's fine."

Harry glanced at her. "Yeah? I hope she's smarter about those ghosts than she has been about the Doctor," he said, stepping into the lift.

Hermione hopped in after him. "I hardly blame her, you know. You've changed a lot since you met him."

"I happen to like how I've changed," Harry replied sharply.

They got off at the atrium and found a relatively quiet corner so he could try Rose again. It was a bit hard to find one, of course, because magical families were evacuating to the Ministry, so the place was a bit of a madhouse.

Finally, Rose picked up. "Harry?!"

"Rose! Thank Merlin! Where are you two?"

"In Torchwood! We're running from the Daleks. And the Cybermen!"

" _Daleks_?" Harry hissed. "When did the Daleks show up?"

"Came through with the Cybermen. The Doctor's got a plan, I think. Oh! Harry, here," she said and handed the phone over.

"Harry, where are you?" the Doctor asked.

"In the Ministry. Seems to be the only place they can't get to. Practically the entire magical world is evacuating to here."

"Stay there."

"What? No! Doctor, what are you up to?"

"Harry, for once, listen to me. _Stay there_. I have to go." He hung up.

"Doctor! Damn it!" Harry shoved the phone in his pocket and tugged at his hair.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered.

Harry turned to look at Hermione, grim-faced. "Go tell Mary-Beth the ghosts are something called Cybermen and the Daleks are here too." Then he turned and headed for the lift to the muggle world.

"Harry! Where are you going?"

Harry pointed up as an answer, then hurried into the phone box lift and took it up. There, he could see Cybermen marching on the street and Daleks flying above. Hundreds of them. "Merlin's beard..." he whispered, then ducked for cover as a Dalek started firing at the nearest battalion of Cybermen.

It only took a moment before something started pulling the Daleks and the Cybermen up and away. Harry ran out into the street to see if he could spot where they were being dragged to, then apparated to the building. Inside, he made for the top floor.

When he finally reached it, out of breath, he saw Daleks and Cybermen streaking past into a wall while the Doctor held on to something attached to the wall and Rose held on to a lever.

"Rose! Hold on!" the Doctor shouted.

Harry ducked under and Dalek and ran towards Rose. "Rose!" he shouted, grabbing for her hands, which were slipping.

The moment Harry reached her, her grip slipped. He made one last desperate grab for her hand and managed to brush her fingertips, but then she was gone and flying away towards the wall.

At the last minute, she was saved by a man who popped in out of nowhere, leaving Harry and the Doctor to stare after her while the wall rippled.

Once everything had fallen still, the Doctor walked over to the wall and rested against it for a long minute before turning back to look at Harry. "You never listen," he murmured.

Harry shook his head and reached out to touch the Doctor's arm. Instead, he got pulled into his embrace and he buried his face in the Doctor's jacket. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "If I'd just been a little bit quicker..."

But the Doctor shook his head. "Brave until the end. The both of you."

Harry closed his eyes. "Didn't even get to say good-bye."

The Doctor swallowed. "There... There might be a way."

Harry looked up at him. "How?"

"Hole that big, there's bound to be a sliver somewhere else. Some way to reach her. A chance to say good-bye." The Doctor looked down at him, eyes ancient and sad. "But only one of us can go through. Talk to her."

Harry nodded. "I'm coming with you," he said firmly. "I don't care if I can't talk to her, I'm coming with you."

"One last ride in the TARDIS?" the Doctor asked, managing a crooked smile.

Harry managed his own crooked smile back. "It's never the last one."

-

Harry called Hermione while they were finding a way to power the transmission. He got her voicemail and left a message, " 'Mione, it's Harry. Sorry if I miss a couple of days of work. I'm off with the Doctor. Saying good-bye to Rose. Tell Ginny I'm sorry, but I'll be home again soon. Won't be long."

He hung up and looked back at the Doctor. "Found something?"

"Super nova," he said, waving at the view screen.

Harry came over to look and whistled. "Use what's left of its power, then?"

"Yeah." The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, here we go..." He flicked a couple of switches, then stared off into nowhere. After a moment, he spoke, and Harry was treated to a painful one-sided conversation.

At the end, when it seemed the transmission had cut off just before the Doctor could finish speaking, Harry stepped forward and gently touched a streak of tears on his face. "You really loved her," he murmured.

The Doctor sighed and pulled Harry into a hug, burying his face in Harry's hair. "I love both of you," he whispered. "Always will."

"And we'll always love you," Harry promised. "You're a bit hard to top."

The Doctor laughed, then, somewhat painfully. "Oh, I dunno. You managed."

Harry pulled back just enough to punch him. "Git!"

The Doctor grinned. "Could have a re-do."

Harry laughed. "You want me to cheat on my wife?"

"You're the one who married her," the Doctor pointed out. "And you don't even like her!"

Harry laughed again. "Don't I know it. Well, I suppose, if I had to cheat with anyone, it might as well be you." He waggled his eyebrows. "But not if this is 'I'm feeling sorry for myself 'cause I just lost Rose' sex."

"Ah..."

"Doctor..." Harry sighed and leaned against the railing. "I know you miss her. So do I. But sex doesn't make everything better."

"You think I don't know that?"

"On the contrary, I think you know it and are trying to forget it."

"I'm not–"

Someone squeaked and they both turned to see a woman in a wedding dress.

"What?" said the Doctor, disbelieving.

"Who're you?" replied the woman.

"Bu–"

"Where am I?"

"Oh dear," Harry said, rubbing at his face.

"Where the hell is this place?!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to take a great deal of joy in ruining this episode. So much of it had to do with the Doctor just losing Rose and not having anyone to travel with and watch him, but Harry's with him this time, so things'll have to be a bit different.
> 
> Also, I _hated_ Donna in this episode, but I grew to like her a bit later on. Since later Donna is who I remember best, my Donna might not be quite as obnoxious as how she's supposed to be in this episode. Tried to keep her pig-headed, though, to some extent. *nervous laughter*

_Harry laughed. "You want me to cheat on my wife?"_

_"You're the one who married her," the Doctor pointed out. "And you don't even like her!"_

_Harry laughed again. "Don't I know it. Well, I suppose, if I had to cheat with anyone, it might as well be you." He waggled his eyebrows. "But not if this is 'I'm feeling sorry for myself 'cause I just lost Rose' sex."_

_"Ah..."_

_"Doctor..." Harry sighed and leaned against the railing. "I know you miss her. So do I. But sex doesn't make everything better."_

_"You think I don't know that?"_

_"On the contrary, I think you know it and are trying to forget it."_

_"I'm not–"_

_Someone squeaked and they both turned to see a woman in a wedding dress._

_"What?" said the Doctor, disbelieving._

_"Who're you?" replied the woman._

_"Bu–"_

_"Where am I?"_

_"Oh dear," Harry said, rubbing at his face._

_"Where the hell is this place?!"_

"What?" the Doctor said.

Harry snorted and shook his head. "Only you."

"No, no, no! This is impossible! We're in flight!" the Doctor said, staring at the TARDIS controls in disbelief.

"You've kidnapped me!" the woman decided. "Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, I bet it's Nerys!"

"Shut her up, Harry!" the Doctor shouted, twiddling with some things on the console.

Harry rolled his eyes and walked over to the woman. "We haven't kidnapped you. Please calm down. He's trying to figure out what–"

"You can't fool me! I've been kidnapped!"

Harry sighed. " _Silencio_. Thank you." The woman stared at him in disbelief. "Right. We haven't kidnapped you, we're just travelling a bit. I'm Harry, he's the Doctor. We'll get you back to your wedding." Harry eyed the Doctor, who was running around the console, looking horribly confused. "We're getting her back to her wedding, aren't we, Doctor? And _on time_ this time."

"Yes, yes. I'm working on it!"

Harry rolled his eyes and turned back to the woman, only to find her heading for the doors. "No! Don't open the do–"

She opened the doors and froze, staring out at the super nova they were stopped next to.

"Oh, bugger..."

The Doctor looked up and sighed. "Shut her up, but can't keep her inside."

"Oh, shove it," Harry snapped, then walked over to the woman and silently removed his spell. "Look, we're in space. Bit far from Earth, really. Please won't you come back inside? Close the doors? There we go..." Harry led her over to the seat and and sat her down while the Doctor poked at the console some more. "Here, let's try this again. I'm Harry, this is the Doctor."

"Donna," the woman said, swallowing. "We're really in space?"

"Really. This is the Doctor's spaceship. She's called the TARDIS," Harry explained. "We'll figure out what happened and get you back to your wedding. I promise."

Donna nodded, eyes still a bit wide. "Is he human?"

"The Doctor?"

"Yeah."

"No, he's not."

"Are you?"

"Very much so, yes. I just travel with him. Sporadically."

"Then what was that... that bit of making me quiet?"

Harry grimaced. "Magic. You know of the Harry Potter books?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Yeah, well, hello! I'm Harry Potter."

"You're lying," Donna decided.

"Nope. Really, truly Harry Potter. Real thing."

"And you travel with an alien," Donna said, disbelievingly.

"Well, yeah. A bit. After the war, before my wedding. And, ah, now. Saying good-bye to a friend of ours."

"Out there? What did you do, shove them out?"

"No. And if the Doctor hears you suggesting that, he might shove _you_ out there, so _shut it_ ," Harry hissed, then turned to look at where the Doctor was frowning at the TARDIS. "Doctor?"

"It doesn't make any _sense_."

"Yeah, doesn't need to. Let's get Donna to her wedding and _then_ you can puzzle out the intricacies of the TARDIS and her sudden ability to summon humans while in flight."

"But this is _important_ ," the Doctor insisted.

"And _so is her wedding_ ," Harry hissed, moving so he was standing right in front of the Doctor and poking him in the chest. "If you make her late to her wedding like you did to me, I don't think she's as likely to forgive you as I was."

The Doctor glanced over at Donna, who was glaring at him. "Ah, good point. Right! Where's the wedding?"

"St Mary's Church, Haven Road, Chiswick. London. England. Earth. The solar system!"

"Specific," Harry commented, hopping out of the way as the Doctor danced around the controls to fly to the specified place. "I like specific."

"Much better than your directions," the Doctor commented.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well _somebody_ took me out and got me _drunk_ the night before. Git."

The Doctor grinned at him, then flipped a switch and they stopped. "Right!"

Donna shoved past both men and ran out the doors. Outside, she turned around and glared. "I said St Mary's!"

"Found the city, missing the church," Harry commented, glancing at the Doctor, who was looking in concern at the TARDIS. "Doctor?"

"Something's wrong with her..." he was mumbling.

Harry sighed and looked back at Donna, who was getting impatient. "Doctor, we're going to catch a taxi to the church. Meet us when you can."

"Yeah, okay..."

Harry rolled his eyes and hurried over to Donna, motioning that they should head out to the street. "Let's find you a taxi, then."

Donna stared at him. "Aren't you Harry Potter? Can't you, I dunno, magic me there?"

Harry blinked and shook his head. "Nope. Well, maybe. I mean, I kinda have to have seen the area once. Maybe even been there. Tend to stay away from churches, me. Anyway, Chiswick's a bit out of the way; I live in Surrey. Come on. Taxi!"

They spent a good five minutes trying to catch a taxi before the Doctor came out and joined them. "Having trouble?"

"Is the TARDIS fixed, then?" Harry replied, looking a bit harried.

"Mostly. Come on. Taxi out back." The Doctor led them back to the TARDIS and started her back up once they were all back inside.

They were a bit closer when they landed again and the Doctor was once again frowning at the TARDIS.

"I'll just walk!" Donna snapped, then stalked off.

Harry glanced at the Doctor, who sighed and shook his head. "Go with her, please? I want to be able to find her again."

"Sir," Harry agreed with a salute. He ducked the return half-hearted swat and hurried after Donna. "I'm to follow you about. Keep you out of trouble." He grinned at her. "And make sure the Doctor can find you again when he finally figures out what happened."

"Lovely," Donna replied drily. "I'll have Harry Potter at my wedding. Assuming my wedding is still on." She looked angrily at her watch.

"Ah..." Harry rubbed his hair in a bit of distress and glanced around. "Hold on. Is it Christmas?"

"Yes," Donna replied in disgust.

"Ah, fuck. Ginny's going to have my head."

"Who?"

"My wife. I've been gone for three months."

"Is that his fault, then?" Donna demanded. "Three months gone?"

Harry shrugged. "Usually it's a couple hours here, half a day there, really. But, yeah, three months this time. Not all that surprised, really. Did send her a message when I first left. Let her know it might be a bit. But, ah, she doesn't like the Doctor, see, so she's going to throw quite the fit."

"Couch for you," Donna commented.

Harry grimaced. "Awful couch, too. Slept on it before, long time ago. It's only gotten worse over the years. Ah! Church!"

"Finally!" Donna exclaimed and they hurried up a bit. When they got inside, though, they found another wedding in process and backed out again quietly. "My wedding," Donna whispered.

"I'm sorry, Donna," Harry replied, gently touching her arm. "Honest I am."

Donna sighed. "Reception's down the street a ways, then. Come on."

When they stepped out of the church, they found a line of Santas awaiting them. A couple of them levelled their instruments at them in a threatening manner. "Oh, this is so not good," Harry decided, pulling out his wand and looking around for witnesses. "I don't think they're here to play us a tune."

The tuba shot out a jet of flame in their direction.

"Oh my God!"

"My sentiments exactly," Harry grumbled, grabbing Donna around the waist. "Sorry about this." He apparated them a bit down the street, then grabbed her hand. "Now run!"

They hurried off and almost ran into the Doctor on the way. "Whoa! Church is that way," he commented, smiling.

"Killer Santas," Donna replied.

"Killer Santas?" The Doctor peeked around them and his eyes widened. "Oh. Pilot fish." He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his jacket pocket. "Have you got yours?"

"Why?" Harry asked, pulling his own out from a pocket of his jeans and handing it over. "What are you planning to do with them?"

"Haven't a clue," the Doctor replied with a mad grin. Then he stepped around Harry and Donna. "Right, you lot! I've got two sonic screwdrivers and if you don't back off, I'll be forced to use them!"

Behind the Doctor, Harry sighed and shook his head while Donna looked between the two men in disbelief.

The pilot fish kept coming and were moving their instruments into a position to fire.

The Doctor shook his head, then looked down at the two sonic screwdrivers and fiddled with the controls. "This might be a bit loud," he warned the two humans, then set them off.

Harry and Donna both covered their ears, grimacing at the noise. Others on the street – the few there were – also covered their ears and one or two turned to look at the Doctor in disgust.

As for the pilot fish? They sort of fell apart.

The Doctor finally turned off the two screwdrivers and handed Harry back his. Then the three wandered over to the pilot fish, Donna glaring back at anyone who glared at them.

The Doctor picked up a head and sonic'd it. "Hm. Still transmitting... Where are you..." He frowned and sonic'd it a bit more, then made a pleased sound and rose his screwdriver into the sky. "Up there."

"Aliens at Christmas. Again," Harry grumbled.

The Doctor grinned at him, then looked over at Donna, who was glaring at passer-bys. "But what's so special about her?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Other than the fact that she missed her wedding?"

"Oh. Oops."

"Oops?" Donna said, turning on the Time Lord. " _Oops_? That's all you can say? Just, oops!"

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor tried.

"You're gonna be sorry!" Donna snapped, then smacked him.

Harry snickered.

The Doctor rubbed at his face, looking mildly startled. "That _hurt_."

"You _really_ know how to pick them," Harry said.

"Shut _up_ , Harry."

"Harry?" a voice said from behind said man.

Harry turned around and groaned. "Oh, bugger."

Ron was standing there, gaping at him, with a couple of aurors behind him. All of them looked quite surprised to see him. "Where have you _been_?"

"Now would be a _really_ good time to make a get-away," the Doctor commented, eyeing the group of aurors a bit nervously.

Donna poked her head around the Doctor to see what was going on. "Friends of yours?"

"You've been travelling with _him_ again, haven't you?" Ron demanded, stepping closer to Harry.

"I did leave 'Mione a message," Harry pointed out.

" _Three months_ , Harry!"

"Yeah, well, we lost track of time!"

" _Three! Months!_ "

Harry groped around behind him for Donna's arm and, once he'd grabbed it, it took the Doctor's hand. "Ron, remember how 'Mione always tells you she can't tell you something?" he asked a little desperately.

"Don't you _dare_."

Harry grinned. "This is one of those times," he said, then apparated them back to the TARDIS. "Oh, he's gonna _kill_ me."

The Doctor laughed and hugged him briefly. "Brilliant!" he declared, then hurried into the TARDIS.

"Wedding reception?" Donna commented, looking a bit angry.

"Sorry!" Harry replied, dragging her into the TARDIS as the Doctor started it up. "I promise, we'll get you there. Promise. But, right now, we really don't want to be in the area. Because Ron's going to kill me."

"Who cares!" Donna shouted. "I've missed my wedding, why not miss the reception as well? Everyone probably thinks I'm dead!"

Harry pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here. Call your fiancé or something," he said, then hurried over to the Doctor. "What now?"

"Now, we figure out what those pilot fish were doing following her. And how she got on the TARDIS."

"You think it's connected?"

"Certain," the Doctor replied, then parked the TARDIS. "We're safe for now. From your mate and any other pilot fish."

"No where's safe from Ron," Harry replied helplessly. "Not when he's this mad at me."

"You only missed three months," the Doctor replied. "What's wrong with that?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Two kids. Wife. Job. Best friends. I dunno, take your pick."

The Doctor grinned at him, then pulled something out of a pouch hanging off the side of the console and using it to scan Donna. "Nothing even the slightest bit special about you," he muttered.

"Doctor," Harry tried as Donna turned to glare at the Doctor.

"Busy," the Doctor replied, still scanning Donna.

Harry covered his eyes as Donna smacked the Doctor again. "Stop. Blinking. At. Me."

The Doctor turned to Harry with a wounded look and the wizard snickered. "I tried to warn you."

"Shut up," the Doctor muttered, putting his scanner away and going to pout on the chair.

Harry shook his head and walked over to where Donna was standing, glaring at the Doctor. "Here," he said, taking his phone back. "No response?"

"No," she said shortly. "Take me to the reception!"

Harry glanced at the Doctor, who was pouting at them still. "You'll have to give him a moment," Harry said to Donna, shaking his head again. "Tell me about your fiancé."

"Lance?" Donna replied, eyes lighting up just a little. When Harry nodded, she happily started exclaiming over his virtues and how they'd met and how much she loved him, and so on. Harry listened and nodded at all the right places, which kept her talking.

Eventually, the Doctor walked over to them with his thinking specs on. "Where did you say you worked?" he asked, frowning a bit.

Donna blinked at him. "H. C. Clements," she replied. "Why?"

The Doctor shrugged and pulled Harry's mobile from his pocket. "Just a thought," he commented, using his sonic screwdriver on the phone.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Ignore him," he suggested to Donna. "So he asked you to marry him, then?"

Donna's eyes lit up again and she started telling Harry about how Lance had asked her to marry him and just kept wearing her down until she agreed.

"A-ha!" the Doctor said at last and tossed the phone back at Harry before running to the TARDIS controls and starting her up.

Harry frowned and looked down at the screen, only to hiss. " _Torchwood_?" he demanded, shoving the phone back into his pocket. "They're owned by _Torchwood_?"

"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "And we're going to go pay H. C. Clements a visit."

"Reception!" Donna shouted, then, as an afterthought, asked, "And who, or what, is Torchwood?"

"Organization created to irritate the crap out of the Doctor," Harry replied drily. "Remember the battle at Canary Wharf? About three months ago?"

"Nope."

Harry blinked at her. "Cybermen all over the world upgrading people. Daleks flying around London?"

"Scuba-diving in Spain."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Muggles," he muttered, then walked over to where the Doctor was driving the TARDIS.

"Reception!" Donna reminded them loudly.

"Doesn't she ever shut up?" the Doctor grumbled to Harry, then shouted, "Bigger picture!"

Harry snorted while Donna glared.

They landed and the Doctor dashed for the door, ducking around the glaring Donna. Harry followed him, much more calmly, and touched Donna's arm. "Sorry," he said. "But this is important. More-over, we might be able to find out why you ended up on the TARDIS. Are you coming?"

Donna looked distressed for a long moment, then sighed and nodded. "Might as well. No other way to get to the reception except through you two."

Harry nodded and they hurried after the Doctor, who had already sonic'd the doors open and was hunting for a computer. By the time they'd joined him, he was smacking a couple of screens in disgust.

"I've been told that smacking them doesn't actually make them work," Harry commented, pulling out a chair for Donna, who nodded to him gratefully. "But, hey, I'm a wizard. What do I know?"

The Doctor frowned at him. "Lots," he replied, then hit another monitor.

Harry laughed.

The Doctor eventually got a computer working and pulled up the building plans. After staring at them for a moment, he dashed for the lift, Harry and Donna following. There, he exclaimed over the floor not on the plans and grinned at them. "I'll be fine from here, if you want to take her to her reception," he told Harry.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and looked at Donna. "Your choice," he said.

Donna looked between the two men for a moment, then stepped firmly onto the lift. "Let's go."

Harry grinned at her and hopped onto the lift himself and the Doctor pressed the button to go down.

At the bottom, they found themselves in a green-lit tunnel. "What goes on down here?" Donna demanded.

"Let's find out," the Doctor replied, looking around. After a moment, he grinned. "Oh look, transport," he said cheerfully and skipped over to a group of segways.

Before they knew it, they were heading down the tunnel and all laughing at each other.

After stopping to get his bearings, the Doctor led them into a lab. "Oooh... Look at this. Stunning," he mumbled, walking among the tubes and pipes.

"What does it do?" Donna asked.

"Particle extrusion," the Doctor replied and pulled out his thinking specs and his sonic screwdriver. "Hold on..." He took a couple of readings, frowned, took a few more. "No..."

"Doctor?" Harry said, tapping the tube he was examining. "What is it?"

"Huon particles," the Doctor replied, turning his sonic screwdriver on Donna. "Well, damn."

"Doctor."

" _What_ are Huon particles?" Donna demanded, looking a bit like she might smack the Doctor again if he didn't stop pointing things at her.

"Huon particles haven't been around for billions of years," the Doctor explained, wisely pointing his sonic screwdriver elsewhere. "Only place you'll find them now is in the heart of the TARDIS." He looked in amazement at the tube next to him. "Brilliant." He pulled a little bottle out of one of the tube bottoms and grinned at it. "Huon particles in liquid form."

"So that's what brought Donna into the TARDIS?" Harry asked.

"Yup. Donna's bristling with them. Amazing."

"But why?" Donna demanded. "And is it dangerous?"

The Doctor blinked. "No, no."

Harry coughed and rose an eyebrow at the Doctor when he looked at him. The Doctor looked away and Harry sighed. He knew that expression, the one that says, 'I'm lying to you, but it's for your own good'. He, himself had worn it on auror missions when someone wasn't going to make it. "Well, dangerous or not," Harry said, jumping forward and resting an arm around Donna's shoulders, "let's see about getting them out, eh? Oh, and finding out why. Maybe even the how." He grinned between the two of them.

There was a sudden hiss and a false wall started rising. "Oh, I can tell you the why, and the how," a female voice told them. "But you won't enjoy the knowledge for long, for you are my key. The key to the secret heart that I have waited so long for."

"I'm beginning to understand why UNIT likes to shoot first," Harry muttered as lines of pilot fish pointed guns at them.

The Doctor eyed the pilot fish for a long moment, then stepped forward to a giant hole. "Somebody's been digging," he commented. "Oh, very Torchwood. Built by laser. How far down does it go?"

"Down and down. All the way to the centre of the Earth," reported the voice.

"Really? Seriously. What for?"

"Dinosaurs?" Donna suggested.

"Aliens don't usually care about dinosaurs," Harry helpfully pointed out.

The Doctor shook his head at them. "Only a madman talks to thin air, and, trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?" he called to the voice.

"High, high in the sky," the voice replied.

"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on! Let's have a look at you!"

"Who are you, with such commands?"

"I'm the Doctor!"

"Prepare your best medicines, Doctor-man, for soon you will be sick at heart." Then, a form of a giant spider-person appeared on a ledge above the hole and hissed rather gleefully at them.

"Racnoss," the Doctor whispered. "You're one of the Racnoss. But that's impossible."

"Empress, of the Racnoss," she informed them.

The Doctor blinked.

"Why is it impossible for her to be a... Racnoss?" Harry asked.

The Doctor explained about where the Racnoss came from, as well as the fact that they were supposed to all be extinct while the empress laughed her hissing little laugh.

Just as he was winding down in his explanation, they saw someone appear on the walkway behind the empress. Donna sucked in a breath and stepped forward. "So what do you want with me, then? What's all this talk about a key? Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

The man on the walkway crept closer and closer to the empress while Donna tried to distract her. The Doctor and Harry traded worried looks, not quite certain what was going on, but both pretty sure it wouldn't end well.

"Do it!" Donna shouted as the man stood just over the empress, axe raised. She smiled at Harry and the Doctor. "My Lance."

But Lance shouldn't have known where they were.

"Oh, no," Harry whispered, staring at the man as he pretended he was going to kill the empress, then started laughing.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor whispered back.

"What?" Donna said, looking between Lance and her two companions.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, squeezing her shoulder.

Lance laughed a bit more and told them all about how he'd suffered while pretending to be in love with Donna.

"But... I don't understand."

"How did you meet?" the Doctor asked. "He made you coffee?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"He made you _coffee_ ," he said again. "You had to be dosed with Huon particles over the course of six months."

"Oh my God..."

"I think it's about time we made an exit," Harry suggested to the Doctor, gripping Donna's shoulder a little bit tighter.

"No, wait." The Doctor stared up at the empress. "What's down there? Down that hole? Just the molten core of the planet, right? What good does that do you?"

The empress hissed a laugh. "Kill the little physician man."

"Time to go!" Harry snapped as the pilot fish cocked their guns. He grabbed the Doctor's hand and apparated them back to the TARDIS.

"Excellent!" the Doctor said, hurrying inside.

Harry gently led Donna in after the Doctor as the Time Lord danced around the console. "Okay?" Harry asked her.

Donna just stepped away from him and took the seat in the console room.

Harry glanced up at the Doctor and he nodded, eyes sad, then went back to flying the TARDIS. "We're going back further than I've ever been before!" he told them, flicking a couple of switches. "I've always wanted to see this!"

When they arrived, he bounded to the doors, then turned to look back at the heartbroken Donna and Harry, who stood next to her, offering his silent support. "Come on, you lot. No human's ever seen this before. You'll be the first. Magic and muggle. Come on."

"All I want to see is my bed," Donna complained, but got up and walked over to the doors with Harry all the same.

The Doctor opened the doors, saying, "Welcome, to the creation of the Earth."

"Oh," Harry whispered, unconsciously reaching for the Doctor's hand.

"Look, there's the sun. Brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked.

"All around us," the Doctor said. "In the dust."

"Puts the wedding in perspective," Donna commented.

"Stop that," Harry chastised, gently shaking her shoulder. "Weddings are important. Every day is important. No matter how beneath notice it is. Even days that don't work out because the groom is an arse plotting with a giant spider to overthrow the human race."

Donna laughed a bit at that and the Doctor grinned at both of them, then looked back out at the dust and rocks.

"So, how is it formed?" Donna asked, looking a bit better.

"Well, one rock that's bigger than all the others comes along and pulls everything else to it. All the gas and the rocks and the dust, getting bigger and bigger until..."

"You have the Earth," Donna finished for him.

"Exactly."

"So, what was that rock?" Harry asked.

"That's what we're here to find out."

"Look, there," Donna said, pointing. The other two turned to look as a spiky thing came out of a cloud of dust.

"The Racnoss," the Doctor hissed.

-

After watching the Racnoss ship become the centre of the Earth for a while, the Doctor shut the doors and rubbed at his face.

"What now?" Harry asked. "That empress will be trying to revive her children. They'll eat everyone on Earth."

The Doctor nodded. "I know." He looked between Harry and Donna. "We'll have to go back," he said. "Give her one last chance. I'll offer to take her to a new planet. Her and her children."

"And if she refuses?" Harry asked quietly.

The Doctor looked at Harry for a long moment, not saying a word, and Harry looked away.

"If she refuses?" Donna demanded. "What then?"

"Kill her and the children," Harry said for the Doctor. "They're under the Thames, right?" He looked at the Doctor, who nodded. "Go back, then. Give her one last chance. If she refuses, we'll flood them."

"How can you say that?" Donna demanded, grabbing Harry's shoulder and spinning him to face her. "How can you just decide to destroy an entire culture?"

"Because it's the only way," the Doctor answered for Harry. "It's the Racnoss, or Earth."

Harry looked Donna in the eye. "I choose Earth. How about you?"

Donna looked away.

Harry turned back to the Doctor, gently removing Donna's hand. "Have you got some sort of communication device? Another mobile, perhaps?"

The Doctor considered that for a moment, then nodded. "I've got a set of radios. Why?"

"You talk to the empress, I'll find a way to deal with them if she says no."

They stared at each other for a long moment, neither wanting to make the call in destroying the Racnoss, but neither wanting the other to, either.

"Better I do it," Harry said, softly. "I'll have to do the paperwork for it, anyway." He managed a smile. "They're already cross with me for missing three months, might as well give them something else for them to be cross with me about."

"Harry–"

"Look! I don't have your knowledge of her species. I'm just a stupid ape. But I'm an ape with a wand, and that's the best thing we've got right now."

The Doctor sighed. "You're not a stupid ape," he said. "Radios are in the attic."

"On it," Harry replied, then disappeared down the hall into the TARDIS.

Back in the control room, Donna shook her head. "You're really willing to kill them? All of them?"

The Doctor refused to look at her, focusing instead on flying the TARDIS. "You don't have to come with us," he commented. "I can drop you off at your reception and you can pretend you had no part in this."

Donna considered the out for a moment, then shook her head. "Not a chance. I'm seeing this through."

The Doctor smiled up at her as Harry walked back in with the radios. "Good thing I found three, then," the wizard commented, holding one of them out to the other human.

Donna stared at him, then motioned to her dress. " _Where_ am I supposed to put it?" she demanded.

Harry sighed and pulled out his wand and a bit of string he carried with him for moments like this. He transfigured a cloth belt from the string and held it out to Donna. "Tie it around your waist."

"Oh..." Donna did as she was told, then attached the radio to the belt.

Harry smiled and tossed the other radio to the Doctor. "Ready?" he asked.

"One last little bit of unfinished business," the Doctor said, shoving the radio in his pocket and coming over to stand next to the two humans as they landed. "Harry promised we'd get those Huon particles out of you."

"Oh, yeah." Harry grimaced. "Suppose I ought keep at least one of my promises today, hm?"

Donna frowned at him, clearly remembering the litany of promises he'd made her already.

Harry looked at the Doctor. "How do you propose we do that, hm? I assume it's not particularly easy."

The Doctor pulled a bottle out of his pocket and showed it to the two humans. It was the bottle he'd taken from the lab. "Think you can summon them from her and put them in here? Or shunt them off into the TARDIS. She'll probably have a bit of indigestion, but she'll be able to handle it."

Harry considered the particles, then Donna, who was still frowning at him. "Never tried summoning particles before," he said, then pulled out his wand. "Have to write a paper on it or something if it works. Ready, Donna?"

"Ready," she said, not looking particularly ready.

" _Accio_ Huon particles in Donna," Harry said.

A bright shine of gold left her and hung in the air in front of Harry for a moment, then slowly filtered themselves into either the bottle the Doctor was holding, or the TARDIS' console.

"That was a bit weird," Harry commented, considering his wand with an amused look. "Wonder if that's just how Huon particles react, or if it's something all forms of energy would do?"

"Dunno," the Doctor responded, placing the bottle on the console. "Don't suppose we'll be finding out any time soon, either."

"Most forms of energy don't glow when they're tickled," Harry agreed. "Come on, Donna. Let's go save Earth."

"And kill the Racnoss?" she demanded.

Harry winced. "If they agree to be transported, they won't be killed. Either way, we'll be saving Earth. Let's stick with calling it that. Come on." He led the way out of the TARDIS, which had landed just by the lift to H. C. Clements. "Hm. Transport's at the other end," he pointed out as the Doctor and Donna joined him.

The Doctor nodded. "Forgot about that. Think you can apparate us to just outside the lab? I'll go in, talk to the empress. You see what you can do about fixing it to flood."

"Sure thing." Harry turned to Donna, who was standing in the doorway of the TARDIS. "Who're you coming with?"

She looked between them for a moment, then nodded to the Doctor. "I have to check on Lance. Get him out of there if you decide you have to flood them."

"Acceptable," Harry agreed and the Doctor nodded. The wizard grabbed both their arms and apparated them to just outside the lab, then, with a jaunty little wave, apparated off to see what he could do.

-

They did end up having to flood the Racnoss. Harry kept envisioning his own sons as he opened the floodgates on the Racnoss, feeling the empress' pain, but unwilling to see James and Albus become food for the aliens. It kept him going when he could hear the empress' screams through Donna's radio, which she'd accidentally left on.

When Harry met them atop the Thames Barrier, Donna pointed out that they'd drained the Thames and they all laughed a bit. Then, Harry apparated them back to the TARDIS, and they took her to Donna's house.

"Well, here we are. Home at last," the Doctor said, leaning against the TARDIS. Harry stood next to him, smiling, while Donna stood just a bit across from them, cold and wet, but with a transfigured fur coat to help keep her from catching hypothermia – Harry and the Doctor had been able to change in the TARDIS, but they hadn't had clothing for Donna.

"I bet they're worried about you," Harry commented, nodding to where they could see a couple through the window of Donna's house. "Lovely Christmas present, you coming back after disappearing like that."

Donna grimaced. "I hate Christmas."

"Aw... Even if it snows?" the Doctor asked, reaching up inside the TARDIS and setting off the light on top of her. It burst into the sky and it started to snow.

"Oh my God." Donna shook her head. "How did you...?"

"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation," the Doctor replied, grinning a bit madly.

"Loon," Harry muttered.

"Oiy!"

They all laughed a bit.

"What will you do now?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, I dunno. Travel a bit. See the world." Donna smiled. "Walk in the dust."

The Doctor nodded. "You could..."

"What?" Donna asked when he didn't continue.

"You could... come with me."

Donna shook her head, still smiling. "No."

"But you've seen it out there!"

"Doctor," Harry murmured, shaking his head.

The Doctor sighed and nodded. "Okay, then."

Donna glanced at Harry. "And what about you?"

Harry grinned. "Oh, I'm gonna head home, I think. Get reamed a new one by my wife, sleep on the couch for a couple weeks. Hold my kids a bit. Get reamed a new one at work." He laughed. "The usual."

Donna nodded and looked back at the Doctor. "Find someone to travel with you."

The Doctor blinked. "I'm fine on my own."

Donna shook her head. "No. I don't think you are. Find someone. Someone who can stop you, before you go too far."

The Doctor looked up at the sky, avoiding Donna's gaze, and shrugged.

Donna sighed. "Tell you what, how about a Christmas supper? Both of you."

Harry shook his head. "Nah. Best not put off the inevitable. I'll take a rain check, though. If that's alright?"

Donna nodded. "Sure. Doctor?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, no. I don't do Christmas dinners."

"You sure? Mum always cooks enough for twenty. It'd be no problem."

"No." The Doctor shook his head again and coughed. "I should, ah, probably go with Harry, anyway. Let Ginny yell at me a bit." He grinned. "Save him from the couch."

"You're so sweet," Harry said drily.

"Alright then," Donna said, looking a little awkward.

Harry stepped forward and hugged her. "Hey, I'm just in Surrey if you ever need an ear." He grinned at her. "Right?"

She smiled. "Right." She looked between the two men. "Thanks. For everything."

Both men smiled at her and waved before climbing back into the TARDIS. The Doctor was just starting up when they heard Donna calling his name, so he poked his head back out. "Blimey, you can shout."

Donna smiled at him. "Will I ever see you again?"

The Doctor grinned. "Almost certain to," he promised her. "Oh, and Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"Just... Be magnificent."

Donna nodded. "Yeah. I think I will."

The Doctor winked and closed the door and then they were off, heading back towards Surrey.

The Doctor parked just down the road and leaned against the console, facing Harry, who was leaning against the railing. "So, home again."

"Three months gone," Harry agreed.

The Doctor nodded. "What do you say to missing another hour?" he asked, nodding to the hallway that led to the living area of the TARDIS.

Harry reached out and grabbed the Doctor's hand. "I thought you'd never ask."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble deciding how to do some of this chapter. Namely, deciding if I would have Harry go with them to see Shakespeare. I mean, it's an awesome episode, and the only one in the series that references Harry Potter, so it made sense to include Harry. But then he'd also have to travel with them to New New York and 1930 Manhattan. Which I _could_ do, but I wasn't sure I wanted to. (And with Harry having been missing for three months already, I can't see him trying to go off again on another trip that might take just as long, especially knowing the Doctor. XD)

Harry did, in fact, get reamed a new one by quite a few people, especially his wife who, it turned out, was pregnant with Lily. She'd found out a few days before the Battle at Canary Wharf and had planned to tell him that weekend during a dinner party at the Burrow. But then he'd disappeared for three months. She'd been quite cross with him.

The only reason Harry didn't get demoted or anything at work was that the Department of Mysteries stepped in. They announced that Harry was working part-time for them – had been for months – and his disappearance was on their orders. When Harry had gone down to thank Mary-Beth for covering his ass, she'd smiled and said, "Oh, you're not out of trouble yet, Potter," and handed him an impressive stack of papers to fill out on everything he did while with the Doctor – including what he knew of the events that transpired at Torchwood. They demanded every single detail about his time away, including how it felt to be saying good-bye to Rose. The only thing Harry managed to keep from them was his own relationship with the Doctor, though that was more because he was more stubborn than the spells on the paperwork.

For the next month or so, the Department of Mysteries and UNIT worked together to clean up the Thames, and Harry was often called from auror duty to help. When he'd demanded an explanation for why he, being a part-time agent, was always being called, Mary-Beth said, "Because you're the one that caused this mess. You get to clean it up."

To which Harry had replied, "Now I know why the Doctor never sticks around."

About the time they finished the Thames, another disaster occurred, and Harry was one of the aurors sent to check it out. When they got to the scene, they found the Royal Hope Hospital gone and a small crowd forming around it, in tears.

Harry looked around, hoping for a clue, and happened to see the TARDIS. "What is she doing here?" he whispered and ducked around a few people to walk over to the ship.

"Harry?" Ron, his partner on all auror missions, called, then started following him. When he caught up to Harry, he was gently touching an old blue box. "Mate, what's so special about a box?"

Harry glanced at Ron. "It's the Doctor's," he said and knocked on the door. "Doctor! Are you in there?"

"Harry, who in their right mind would spend any amount of time in a little blue box?" Ron asked with a small laugh.

"It's bigger on the inside," Harry replied and spelled the doors open. He poked his head in. "Doctor?"

The TARDIS remained silent.

Ron glanced around the door himself. "Looks like a set from one of those films 'Mione watches sometimes," he commented.

"Yeah, he likes those films too," Harry replied absently, closing and re-locking the door. "If he's not in the TARDIS, that means he's in the hospital..."

"Is that good?" Ron asked, looking a bit hopeful. Both Hermione and Harry seemed to hold the Doctor in high regard and that had worn off on him far more readily than Ginny's hatred of the man, though he still wasn't pleased with the Doctor for running off with his best friend for three months. (The statement by the Department of Mysteries that Harry had been on a mission for them during those three months had calmed his ire a bit, though he was now madly curious as to why a muggle would be involved in anything the Department of Mysteries was up to.)

Harry decided to wait until the hospital returned and he figured they wouldn't need six aurors there waiting for it, so he told the other five they could head back. Ron, of course, demanded that he stay, but the other two teams agreed to head back. So only Ron and Harry remained to watch the hospital return in a torrent of rain.

As Harry had expected, the Doctor went straight for the TARDIS when he got out of the building, and Harry was waiting for him, Ron at his side.

"Harry!" the Doctor called, bouncing forward. "And Ron," he added with a bit less fervour.

Harry stepped forward and jabbed the Doctor in the chest. "Talk fast, because I have a report to write up, and I'd like to do it _before_ my shift is up, if you don't mind."

The Doctor grimaced. "Ooh... Does Ron have clearance?" he asked, eyeing the suspicious Ron.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Doctor, you tell me. You're the ranking officer."

"He works for the DoM?" Ron demanded.

"No, I work for the muggle equivalent of one of the departments in the Department of Mysteries," the Doctor replied, sighing. "Can I at least get another pair of trainers before you debrief me?"

Harry blinked. "Where are your shoes?"

"Well, one of them got filled with radiation, and I looked a bit mad with only one shoe on, so..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You always look a bit mad. And no, you can't get new shoes. What happened to the hospital?"

The Doctor sighed again. "Judoon."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Alien police," Harry answered, eyes never leaving the Doctor's. "Why did they take the hospital?"

"There was a Plasmavore hiding among the patients. They transported the hospital to the moon so it was on neutral territory," the Doctor explained.

"Plasmavore?" Ron repeated, looking completely lost. "The moon?"

"Ah. Figures. Do we have anything on Plasmavores on file?" Harry asked, thinking he could probably make a pretty good report from that. "And did they catch them? The Plasmavore."

"They did catch her. I had to help a bit–"

"Oh, I'm sure _that_ went over well," Harry commented, knowing exactly what the Doctor thought about the Judoon and their methods.

The Doctor grinned a bit madly. "Went over marvellously, I'll have you know. And a Plasmavore is a species that looks human, but can change what their blood registers as by drinking another species' blood."

"So the Judoon would have registered her as human," Harry figured. "Then how did... Oh. You didn't," he said, looking the Doctor over. The Time Lord looked a bit more pale that usual, as if he'd lost a lot of blood.

The Doctor just shrugged. "Are you done?"

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Only you," he muttered. "Yes, I'm done. Go change your trainers, then. And take a nap!"

"Yes, Mum," the Doctor intoned, then ducked into the TARDIS before Harry could retaliate.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Git."

"Harry, I'm a bit lost," Ron said, looking pretty lost.

"Yeah. The Doctor does that to people," Harry replied, taking Ron's elbow and leading him out of sight of the people in front of the hospital. "Look, the Doctor works for an organization that tracks down aliens and finds out what they're doing on Earth. Gets them to leave."

Ron nodded. "And the DoM has something like that, too? You work for them?"

"Yes. And so does your wife," Harry agreed, grinning when Ron's jaw dropped. "Shocking, isn't it? Practical Hermione Weasley, working to hunt down alien life on planet Earth."

"You're pulling my leg."

Harry laughed. "Let's get back to the Ministry. Ginny'll kill me if I'm late again."

-0-

The next day, Harry was called down to the Department. He was half-afraid his report hadn't been accurate enough, but it turned out to be something completely different.

"You want me to go to a party?" Harry asked, disbelieving.

Mary-Beth nodded. "A scientist in unveiling his most recent discovery and it sounds a bit off. The Department Head wants us to send someone and you seem our best bet."

"But why _me_?" Harry demanded.

"Because you're one of our few operatives who has a visible presence in the muggle world," Mary-Beth replied, handing over a clip board. It had Harry's muggle profile on it – the one he'd used while working as an aid to the Prime Minister – and it was, in fact, quite visible. In fact, he was still the official person in charge of supplying magical assistants for the muggle Prime Minister's office. Even got a cheque every other month or so.

"Okay," Harry agreed. "But why would Harry Potter be interested in a science experiment?"

Mary-Beth leaned forward with a knowing smile. "Because some of the technology in his machine doesn't add up."

Harry blinked. "Alien? Or just too advanced?"

"You've got it," she agreed, leaning back in her chair. "Take your wife for a night out. Have your mother-in-law watch your kids. Supper on the town and a fancy little muggle party after. She might even think you're worth it again."

"Har, har," Harry replied, taking the information about the case she'd set down on the edge of her desk. "You'll have my report on your desk by morning."

-0-

"But why a _muggle_ party?" Ginny demanded over supper at a lovely little Italian restaurant just down the road from where the event would be held. Ginny had a soft spot for a Italian food ever since Harry took them to Italy for their honeymoon, and Harry had hoped the restaurant would help keep her from complaining too much.

"Because the Department wants me to go," Harry said, sighing. He'd gotten permission from Mary-Beth after he got back from his three month trip to tell Ginny about his working for the Department of Mysteries, especially since most of the auror department already knew.

"Why couldn't they send someone else?" Ginny demanded.

"Because they needed me." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Look, sweetheart, I was hoping this could be a nice little night out. I've been so busy with work lately–"

"Yes. And now you're taking me on a mission for your work," Ginny snapped, glaring at him and throwing down her fork. "Well, Harry Potter, if your work is more important to you than me, maybe it's time we parted." Then she stood and walked towards the doors.

"Ginny!" Harry called, then groaned. "Dammit."

Their server came over with a sympathetic look. "More wine, sir?"

Harry glanced at his watch and shook his head. "No thank you. Just the bill, I think."

"Very good, sir."

-0-

The party was rather posh, Harry considered as he walked in.

"We were under the impression you'd be bringing Mrs Potter," the man at the door said when Harry gave his name.

Harry smiled tightly. "She was unable to make it, I'm afraid."

"Of course," he replied and waved Harry through.

Harry sighed and took the stairs up to the welcoming hall. There, people milled around in small groups, talking about their businesses and occasionally taking something to eat off a one of the plates being taken around by some young hosts. Harry took a flute of wine with a quiet, "Thanks," then walked over to the machine which stood prominently in the centre of the room. After a quick check for anyone who might be looking at him, Harry pulled out his sonic screwdriver and checked the device over.

"It's not alien," a familiar voice commented from behind Harry.

Harry glanced up at the Doctor with a grin. "Oh, good to know you're on the case, then."

The Doctor grinned back. "What's brought you here? Other than possible alien tech?"

"Possible too-advanced tech," Harry replied. "How'd you get in, anyway? They wouldn't have you on the guest list."

"Oh... I'm a plus one," the Doctor admitted. "And you?"

"I'm legit, thank you." Harry glanced around at the crowd. "So then, where's your companion? In the loo?"

"Catching up with her family," the Doctor reported, pointing over at where a couple of young women were talking. "Should we go over and say hello?"

"Mmmm... Introducing me as your lover on the side?" Harry joked, letting himself be led over.

"Oh, I was thinking work partner, really," the Doctor replied, far too amused. "Hello, Martha."

"Oh, Doctor!" Martha smiled at him, then looked back at the other young woman she was talking with. "Tish, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Tish. My sister."

"Lovely to meet you," the Doctor responded.

"How'd he get in, then?" Tish asked her sister. "He's not on the guest list."

"He's my plus one," Martha reported, turning to the Doctor. She noticed Harry then, and blinked. "You were outside the hospital," she said.

"Ah. That's how he picked you up." Harry smiled. "Harry Potter. I work with the Doctor from time to time."

Martha blinked and looked at the Doctor, who was smiling just a little too smugly. "Harry Potter?" she asked of Harry.

The Doctor chuckled. "Harry, this is Martha Jones. Martha, yes, Harry Potter."

"But you said–"

"You've been telling tales again, haven't you?" Harry inquired of his friend.

The Doctor just grinned some more.

They were interrupted by the addition of Martha's mother and brother, so Harry turned to the Doctor and demanded, "What happened? She looks like she's seen a ghost."

"We went to see Shakespeare and saw some Carrionites, which I think must be the creatures that spawned your people. She kept referencing you," the Doctor murmured.

"And you told her magic doesn't exist, didn't you?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I hadn't planned on keeping her with me long."

Harry snorted, disbelieving.

"Oh. And we saw some Daleks in Manhattan," the Doctor added as a sort of afterthought.

"You _what_?" Harry hissed, grabbing his arm. "How?"

"Temporal shift. They escaped the Void at Canary Wharf."

"Are they dead?"

"All but one."

Harry groaned. "Bloody–"

The Doctor coughed. "I share your sentiments. But this isn't the time or the place."

Harry nodded. "Tell me more about the Carrionites later. I'll add them to the files."

"They're gone, now," the Doctor commented.

Harry shook his head. "Doctor, aliens that are 'gone' have a bad habit of popping back up around you." When the Doctor winced, Harry shrugged, unapologetic.

Martha rejoined them, her mother still demanding to know about the Doctor. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Oh, the Doctor was telling me about alien witches," Harry replied flippantly.

Martha coughed. "Was he now?"

Harry nodded. "Oh, yes. He likes his little stories. I'm collecting them, so I can tell my children when they're old enough to properly appreciate them." He grinned at the Doctor. "Guess who's pregnant?"

"Ginny?" the Doctor asked.

Harry nodded, very slowly. "Oh, yes. About a week before Canary Wharf."

The Doctor winced. "Sorry?"

Harry smiled at him. "Pity she didn't want to come to this party. She could have told you exactly what she thought of you."

"Ah..." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair a bit nervously. "She's going to kill me, isn't she?"

"Oh, she's certainly mentioned it once or twice," Harry agreed, far too pleased.

The Doctor was saved from further ribbing by Professor Lazarus stepping up next to his machine and announcing his intention to start. After a brief monologue, he stepped into his machine and his assistants started it up.

It didn't take long for something to go wrong and the Doctor jumped over to the controls and tried to shut it down while the crowd backed up. Once the machine was shut down, Martha jumped forward and opened the doors.

Out stepped a younger man who touched his face and chuckled, then said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy-six years old. And I am reborn!"

"Oh, this is so not good," Harry muttered.

-0-

Harry left the Doctor and Martha to their little hunts while he did some survey of his own. The Doctor would fill him in on what he learned later – Harry would make certain of that – but while the Time Lord seemed to understand what had happened, Harry wasn't so sure he did, so he found a couple of Lazarus' assistants and spoke to them.

A lot of what he was told went over his head, but he got the gist of it: Using sound waves, Lazarus had caused himself to de-age in body, which would let him live even longer. The assistants all seemed pleased with the results and sounded hopeful for the future of humankind.

Harry glanced around for the Doctor or Martha when he finished talking to the assistants, but didn't see either of them, so he wandered around, joining various groups and adding to their conversations.

Martha's mother caught him after a bit. "You're familiar with that Doctor that my daughter is about with, aren't you?" she demanded.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Colonel Harry Potter," he said, using the muggle equivalent of his auror rank. "You are?"

This seemed to throw the woman for a bit and she rather mutely replied, "Francine Jones. I'm Martha's mother."

Harry shook her hand with an easy smile. "A pleasure. And, yes, I know the Doctor. I work with him sometimes. He is, ah, slightly eccentric." He shrugged. "If it puts you at ease, I can assure you that he has no intention to harm your daughter, or even see harm befall her, if he can help it."

Francine blinked. "I... see... So he's with the military?"

"Freelance, really," Harry replied. "He doesn't like having anything to hold him down, so he's not _officially_ military."

There was a bit of a disturbance behind them and they both looked to find Martha talking to her brother, the Doctor looking around desperately. Francine tried to talk to her daughter, but she and the Doctor took off towards the lifts.

"Excuse me," Harry said with a smile, then hurried off after them. He managed to jump into the lift just before the doors closed. "What have you found out?" he asked.

The Doctor grimaced while Martha looked startled. "He's basically re-written his DNA, but he's missed something and it's mutating. He's killing people to help steady his DNA."

"Mmm... Mad scientists are fun." Harry grinned. "Just don't blow anything up this time."

The Doctor grinned back. " _You_ were the one who emptied the Thames."

"Yes. But I didn't blow anything up, thanks," Harry retorted, then grinned at the staring Martha. "And yes, Miss Jones, I am _the_ Harry Potter," he added as the lift doors opened.

They all popped out of the lift and looked around for a moment before the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, commenting on Lazarus' fluctuating DNA.

Harry just pulled out his wand and cast a locator spell, then was off towards the roof.

"Oh my God," Martha said as she and the Doctor made to follow him. "He really is, isn't he?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor agreed, grinning again.

Up on the roof, Martha got her sister, Tish, away from Lazarus while the Doctor talked to him. When Lazarus transformed into a scorpion-like creature, they all ran for it, Harry shooting a spell at the door to keep it closed.

"Are you okay?" Martha asked Tish while they waited for the lift.

"I was going to snog him," the girl replied, looking shocked.

"Hmm... Human-scorpion?" Harry commented to the Doctor.

"Some form evolution rejected," the Doctor replied.

An alarm went off and the lights shut off. Tish explained, when asked, that it was an emergency lock-down that went into effect when someone was breaking into the building.

"I love modern buildings and their security systems," Harry muttered as they took to the stairs.

"He's inside!" Martha reported when they were about halfway down the stairs.

"Keep going," Harry ordered and shot a couple of hexes up the stairs behind them.

In the reception hall, the Doctor turned to the girls. "Tish, is there another way out?"

"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, but stopped when he saw Harry waving his own around. "Setting fifty-four," the Doctor ordered, putting his away and jumping up on the platform Lazarus' machine was on to tell the crowd to move it. They laughed, of course.

And then Lazarus appeared.

"Can't you use magic?" Martha hissed to Harry as the crowd ran their way, screaming.

"Too many muggles," Harry muttered, then let out a quiet sound of victory as the doors opened.

"Everyone downstairs!" Martha shouted as they jumped out of the way.

Once everyone was out of the reception hall and the Doctor was leading Lazarus away, the group made their way downstairs, where the doors there were also locked.

"There must be an over-ride switch!" Martha shouted.

Harry muttered some choice words under his breath and shot an _alohomora_ at the doors, which popped open to free the frantic people. When Martha looked back at him, disbelieving, he shrugged. "Faster, and they're not paying attention."

Martha sighed, then looked back up the stairs. "I have to go back," she told her family. When they tried to make her stay, she looked helplessly at Harry, who shrugged and pulled out his mobile to call for an ambulance for those who'd been hurt. Once that was dealt with, he rang the emergency number for UNIT.

"Unified Intelligence Taskforce," the automated voice answered.

"This is Harry Potter," he said and gave his designation code. As soon as he got a proper person, he snapped, "I need people at Lazarus Laboratory for a clean-up. The test on his device went a bit wrong and we don't need anyone else getting a hold of it."

"And Lazarus?" the man asked as soon as he'd given his orders for a team to be dispatched.

"The Doctor is dealing with him."

"The Doctor?!"

"Yeah, he came to crash the party." Harry grinned.

"Understood. Keep the civilians out of the building. Troops are on their way."

Harry hung up his phone and sighed. Suddenly, he was really very glad that Ginny had decided to go home.

-0-

When the Doctor and Martha came out, Harry was busy with the UNIT troops and did little more than wave in recognition.

They all heard the crash, but when Harry turned to run after the Doctor, one of the men with him grabbed his arm. "Potter, you're not done here."

Harry grit his teeth. "With all due respect, sir, neither is Lazarus."

The man and Harry stared at one another for a long minute. Finally, he let Harry go and he ran down the street, hoping he wouldn't be too late.

-0-

Harry got to the bottom of the bell tower just in time for the Doctor to start really shaking the rafters. He grimaced and looked up at where he heard screaming. There, he saw Martha, hanging on to the edge of some broken wood. Lazarus, in scorpion form, writhed above her. " _Wingardium Leviosa_ ," Harry whispered, using his magic to help keep Martha from falling to her death.

Once Lazarus fell, the Doctor stopped playing and shouted, "Martha!"

"I've got her!" Harry called back.

The Doctor breathed out a sigh and hurried out of the organ seat while Harry made sure Martha was safely back with her sister, who was looking a bit shell-shocked.

The Doctor grabbed Harry in a hug as soon as he reached him. "What would I do without you?"

Harry grinned. "You'd manage." He tugged away and gave the Doctor a stern look. "I heard you blew up one of the labs."

The Doctor laughed a little and hurried over to check on Lazarus, partially to avoid whatever Harry had to say about his latest bit of destruction. The scientist had re-aged again and the Doctor closed his eyes. "Really dead this time," he murmured.

When Tish and Martha got back downstairs, there were hugs all around and Harry cheerfully admitted to Tish that he was _the_ Harry Potter and, yes, she'd just seen a real magic spell.

Harry eventually said good-bye to the Doctor and the two Jones, promising to keep in touch, then apparated home to check on Ginny and work on his report for work.

Ginny met him at the door, in tears, and he pulled her into a hug. "What's wrong? Ginny, what is it?" he asked, manoeuvring them into the house.

"It was on the news," Ginny sobbed, clutching at Harry as if afraid he would disappear if she let go. "Th–that p-party went all wr-wrong. You cou-could have been k-killed!"

Harry blinked and heard the telly in the living room, which was, indeed, talking about the incident at Lazarus Laboratory. He sighed and kissed the top of Ginny's head. "But I'm fine, sweetheart. I lived through it." He smiled down at her and received a watery smile in response. "Live through anything, me."

Ginny laughed a little at that. "But what happened?" she asked, finally letting go.

Harry shrugged. "Mad scientist tried to make himself younger, ended up turning into a monster instead." He grinned at her. "Pity you missed the party, though."

"What? You _wanted_ me dead?" Ginny snapped, back to her usual self.

Harry sighed. "No. And I wouldn't have let it touch you. No, the Doctor was there. You could have yelled at him."

"Where is he now, then?" Ginny demanded.

Harry shrugged. "Oh, who knows. Off travelling again."

"Why is he only around when something goes wrong?"

"Just lucky, I guess," Harry decided, then waved his wand to turn off the telly. "Come on, bed. It's been a long day."

-0-

Two weeks later found Harry back in Mary-Beth's office, but this time completely of his own will. "I want to transfer to the _Valiant_."

Mary-Beth took a moment to stare at him. "Why?"

"Because I need to be there," Harry replied. "It's the reason I joined the Department."

Mary-Beth sighed. "You know civilians aren't allowed up there. Once you transfer, you'll have to stay. No contact with your wife."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "I am aware of that."

"Even if she gives birth during your stay," Mary-Beth pressed.

Harry nodded. "I am aware of that," he repeated.

Mary-Beth stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. "Does Ginny know yet?"

Harry grimaced, recalling the fight they'd gotten into over his insistence that he transfer and Harry's new relocation to the couch. "Oh, she knows."

"I'll see that it is done. Expect a memo within the week."

Harry stood. "Thank you," he said, then turned and left her office.

-0-

Life on the _Valiant_ was difficult, Harry found, and that was largely because he was the only wizard aboard. Oh, he suffered a bit from not knowing anyone, in the beginning, but he eventually made friends, of a sort, with the other UNIT members aboard. Some of them had family they'd chosen to leave on the surface for the required year-long tenure, and it was those few that Harry was first able to relate and talk to. Eventually, the others accepted him into their group and they all laughed at the various alien visits that had occurred over the past few years.

Harry wasn't certain when the event he'd been told to wait for would occur, but he figured it wouldn't been too long after the _Valiant_ first hit the skies, or he would have given himself something a little more specific than, 'the day the Toclafane arrive'.

"Look, Potter," Jacob Ashe said, pointing to the telly, "it's your Prime Minister."

Harry grimaced. He was one of the few people he knew who didn't like Harold Saxon. Something about him just rose so many alarms in Harry's head and he'd avoided the man to the best of his ability.

"And this species has identified themselves," Saxon was saying. "They're called the Toclafane. And tomorrow morning, they will appear..."

Harry hissed and sat back while the other men around him laughed. "More aliens," one of them said, shaking his head. "Never stops, does it?"

"Potter?" Dirk Simons said, looking at Harry curiously.

Harry forced a smile. "Saxon always makes my skin crawl," he reminded them as he stood and they all laughed. "I'm gonna get some tea. Anyone else?"

"Coffee!" a couple of them shouted, while one or two agreed to a tea.

Harry took a count, then walked out of the room and leaned against the wall. "And so it starts," he muttered, then shoved off to get the promised drinks.

-0-

"Look, Ashe, it's your President," one of the UNIT guys said as President Winters arrived on the _Valiant_ the morning the Toclafane were to appear.

"Oh, shut up."

They all laughed a bit.

"Who has duty this morning?" their commander demanded, looking into the room over-seeing the landing pad.

They all traded looks, then those with duty stepped forward, including Harry, who grimaced. He hadn't, actually, intended to be on duty when the Toclafane showed up, but duty rosters were created a month in advance, and Harry couldn't fake sick well enough to get out of it.

The commander nodded. "Right, you lot. No armed soldiers will be allowed in the flight deck when the aliens arrive, so you'll have to leave before then, but I want you in there until you're told to leave. Understood?"

"Sir!"

"Good. Now _get moving_!"

The group hurried back to their bunks to grab their required uniforms and guns. Harry didn't like the guns – he certainly had no intention to ever use his – but they were required, especially when there might be a bit of a fight.

On the flight deck, they all stood at attention and pretended to be part of the metal work. For the most part, the two parties from the US and the UK ignored them, but they were also a bit more interested in antagonising each other to care about the so-called neutral men standing at attention. (Harry knew for a fact that the men he worked with were patriotic to their counties of origin and fights had occasionally broken out because of that. Harry, himself, usually managed to avoid the fights, if only because he cared more for the magical government of Great Britain than the muggle one. And he hated the Prime Minister.)

When they were ordered out, the UNIT troops filed out of the room and took up stations in the hallway. Harry stood nearest to the door and had a moment where he swore someone was staring at him, but the other UNIT soldiers were looking straight ahead and the man walking into the door next to him – a member of Saxon's party – wasn't interested in the UNIT troops. He just shook it off and chalked it up to paranoia that something was going to go wrong.

Which it did.

When the shooting started inside the room, Harry was the first through the door and, consequently, the first to have a gun held to his head. He gently placed his own gun on the floor and motioned behind him to the other UNIT men. "Guns down, guys," he ordered, even as he looked around the room.

When he saw the Doctor, he froze and they both stared at each other for a long, silent minute. Then Harry's eyes moved on, checking to see where everyone else was. He saw Martha, kneeling next to a man who was laying out on the ground, dead. Saxon stood at the head of the room with the Toclafane around him, a strange little device in his hand which vaguely recalled the sonic screwdriver in Harry's inside pocket.

When Saxon turned his device on the Doctor and aged him, it took every ounce of willpower Harry possessed to stay where he was. He could have apparated them out of there, but that would likely have proved fatal for one of them, and the Doctor would never have been able to stomach leaving Martha alone on the _Valiant_. Not with Saxon, who he clearly had a history with.

And when Saxon released hordes of Toclafane to attack Earth, Harry felt sick. His wife and children and best friends were down there, helpless. All he could do was hope they managed to hide somewhere. Hoped that, like the Cybermen, the Toclafane weren't able to get into the Ministry.

Harry made a mental note to ring Hermione's cell phone as soon as he was able.

-0-

Harry wasn't actually supposed to have a mobile on the _Valiant_. Partially because they didn't want the troops on board getting distracted by calls from home more often than once a month – there was a phone on the flight deck they were allowed to use every month or so, but Harry never did, because his wife didn't use phones – but also in part because normal mobiles didn't work on the _Valiant_. They weren't always in an accessible airspace, and even with the Arch Angel Network, most mobile providers didn't include coverage in the sky.

But Harry's phone didn't have most mobile providers, and nor was his phone limited in any way by being in the sky – or even half-way across the galaxy, for that matter – because Harry's mobile was on the TARDIS Network, as he'd once told Hermione a bit jokingly.

"Hermione?" Harry whispered as his friend picked up. He was standing in the room over-looking the flight deck, alone for the moment. He'd placed a muggle repelling charm on the door, but he wasn't sure how well it would work against Saxon and the Toclafane, so he needed to be quick.

"Harry?" Hermione replied. Her own mobile was Department issued, as they'd eventually realised that their people would need mobiles if they were going to continue getting more and more involved with alien life. The mobiles hadn't worked inside the Ministry, however, until Hermione mentioned the problem to Harry and he borrowed her mobile and attacked it with his sonic screwdriver. Now, it worked as well as Harry's, but it was restricted by the planet's surface.

Harry smiled at hearing Hermione's voice. "Where are you?"

"Ministry. Where are you?"

"On the _Valiant_. Is the Ministry safe from them, then?"

"Yes. And we're getting reports that they haven't breached St Mungo's, but we're not sure if that's because they _can't_ , or if it's because they simply haven't bothered trying."

Harry nodded. "How many people have you got down there?"

"Too many." Harry could hear the grimace in Hermione's voice. "They've already shut down the phone box lift and they're slowly closing off access through the floo, telling people they'll have to either find another place to hide, or simply remain in their homes and hope for the best. It's a mad house."

Harry sighed. "I sort of expected that. Is our family safe?"

Hermione paused for a long moment and Harry felt like his heart was in his throat. "Mum managed to get here safely with Rose and Hugo, and Ron, Dad and I were all working here when it started. I haven't seen Ginny yet, but it's so crowded and everyone is so confused that she could just be lost in this mess."

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Hey, 'Mione?"

"Yes?"

"I'll call in every couple of weeks, okay? See how everyone's doing."

"Okay. Do you want me to call you when we find Ginny?"

Harry smiled. "No. Don't want to chance anyone getting suspicious of my phone. I'll call you in a couple of weeks."

"Stay safe, Harry."

"You too, 'Mione. Kiss Rose and Hugo for me."

"Right. And I'll kiss your boys when we find them."

Harry laughed. "You do that," he said and hung up. He stared down at his mobile for a long time after, numb. There was a very high chance that Ginny was already dead. And that meant so were Lily, Albus and James. And if they were dead, Merlin help Saxon and his Toclafane.

-0-

"There's nothing we can do," one of the men was saying as Harry walked into the telly room.

"There's always _something_ ," another replied.

Harry sat down among them. "What's going on?"

A few of them glanced at him, slightly suspicious. Eventually, one of them said, "Potter, what do you think of all this? These Toclafane?"

Harry set his jaw. "I want them gone," he said with feeling.

A couple of the men returned grim smiles. "Good. Then we're all on the same page," their commander said, leaning forward. "We're trying to think of something to do."

Harry considered that. "I think..." he started, then paused and shook his head. "The Doctor sent Martha back down to Earth. He's _got_ to have something planned. Knowing him, it'll be big and it'll be impressive. And the more we try to help him, the more we'll be in the way."

The others stared at him for a long minute in surprise. Finally, the commander shook his head. "You read the files too, then? Didn't think you had high enough clearance."

Harry grinned and shook his head. "Nope. Travelled with the Doctor for a bit a few years ago."

"For real?" one of the men asked.

"That's not in your files," their commander said.

Harry shook his head, still grinning. "Wouldn't be. It was before I joined UNIT. Should say in there that I've collaborated with him on a few things since, though."

"Ah, yes," the commander said with a smirk. "The Thames incident."

"What incident?" one of the men from America demanded.

"That was _you_?" a British soldier whispered, awed.

Harry rubbed at the back of his head with a nervous smile. "Yeah, that was me. I drained the Thames," he added, for the benefit of those who wouldn't have known.

They all laughed at that, but their laughter was cut short by one of Saxon's personal guard stepping into the room, stone-faced. "Mr Saxon wants to see you on the flight deck. Now," he ordered. As they stood and reached for their guns, he smiled a bit nastily and said, "Oh, and no guns, please."

The group traded looks. There were twenty of them and only so many of Saxon and his men. They could easily take him down if the need arose, even without guns. There would be more casualties, but it could be done.

"No guns," the commander agreed, setting his back down next to his chair.

The others reluctantly agreed and set their own guns down before filing out of the room.

On the flight deck, Saxon was waiting for them. He'd set up a little tent to one side and Harry could see the aged Doctor peeking out at them from inside, grim but hopeful. Harry managed a brief smile and the Doctor returned it.

Once they'd all filed in, Saxon stepped down so he was on their level. "Now then, gentlemen, let me give you one chance to live through this. You can swear your allegiance to me, right here, right now, or you can deny me and I'll have you shot on the spot. Am I clear?" He smiled at them.

A couple of the men traded looks, but Harry glanced at the Doctor, who nodded just the slightest bit. So Harry stepped forward. "Harry Potter, sir. My gun belongs to you."

There was a moment of disbelief, then the commander also stepped forward, stating his own intention to serve Saxon. Slowly, the other men did the same. One of them refused and was killed by a Toclafane.

"Very good," Saxon decided and waved to one of his personal guard. "Take them down to the duty room and see them put on the shifts. Oh, and get rid of those red caps. They're horrible. Let's go black."

"Sir!" the guard said, then motioned for the men to follow him back out.

As they left the flight deck, the commander leaned over and whispered, "I hope you know what you're doing, Potter."

Harry swallowed. "So do I."

-0-

Over the next year, the men adapted to life on the _Valiant_ , such as it was. Harry was occasionally scorned for his decision to stay with the Master – as Saxon claimed himself to be – but he mostly ignored them. It had helped that he'd eventually found a moment to speak with the Doctor a couple of weeks in:

_"Doctor?" Harry whispered into the dark silence of the flight deck. He'd used magic to mask his trip, since the UNIT men were still under watch, but he'd needed to talk to the Doctor. He'd needed to know that he'd made the right choice. For all of them._

_An elderly head poked out of the tent and Harry hurried over to help his friend. The Doctor smiled at him tiredly. "I'm glad to see you're alright," he whispered._

_Harry hugged him, closing his eyes, and the Doctor hugged him back a bit weakly. "I wish I could have stopped him," he said, helpless. "I wish I could just cast a spell and all of this would be over."_

_"It's never that easy," the Doctor replied, leaning ever so slightly against Harry._

_"No," Harry agreed. Then, "Please tell me you have a plan? Please tell me I didn't just swear my gun to a man I hate for no reason?"_

_The Doctor laughed a bit weakly. "Ah, my Harry. Always acting without fully thinking things through."_

_"It's called trusting you, you git."_

_The Doctor laughed again. "Yes, I know." He smiled at Harry. "Of course I have a plan."_

_Harry let out a breath of relief. "Thank Merlin. I'd thought so, since you sent Martha back down to Earth, but I wasn't sure."_

_The Doctor nodded. "I only hope it works."_

_Harry sighed. "It's our only hope right now," he pointed out. "We'll have to just cross our fingers. And I won't ask what it is you're planning. I don't want Saxon finding out somehow."_

_"His name isn't Saxon," the Doctor said._

_Harry frowned. "You mean he's actually named 'Master'?"_

_"He's a Time Lord."_

_Harry's eyes widened in surprise as he remembered one of those stories the Doctor had told him so long ago. "Your childhood friend? And then nemesis?"_

_"Yes."_

_"But you said he was_ dead _," Harry hissed._

_The Doctor smiled at him. "As you once pointed out to me, things that are supposedly dead have a bad habit of turning back up when I'm around."_

_Harry sighed. "I know. But still..." He rubbed at his face. "How did he survive the Time War?"_

_"He went to the end of the universe and made himself human," the Doctor replied. "Hid there until the TARDIS took us there. She was trying to get away from Jack."_

_"The man strung up down in the boiler room?" Harry asked, frowning._

_The Doctor nodded. "Rose..." He swallowed. "Rose looked into the TARDIS and used its power to bring him back to life, only she didn't just bring him back to life, she kept him from dying."_

_"When was this? And why didn't I ever hear about it?"_

_"Rose didn't remember. I took the power back from her, but it killed me."_

_"Your regeneration," Harry whispered, understanding._

_The Doctor nodded. "But he's impossible. The TARDIS didn't want him near her and, honestly, he makes my skin crawl a bit." He smiled and Harry smiled back. "So she tried to escape. Took us to the end of the universe. We found the Master – didn't realise he was the Master, myself, until it was too late – and he remembered. He took the TARDIS. We used Jack's Vortex Manipulator to get back here."_

_"His what?"_

_"Vortex Manipulator," the Doctor repeated. "Jack is from the fifty-first century. Your lot had learned how to play with time by then."_

_"Ah. And he has one of their toys, still."_

_The Doctor nodded._

_"Why doesn't he use it to, I dunno, go back the the fifty-first?"_

_"It's broken."_

_"But you used it to get back here," Harry pointed out._

_The Doctor grinned. "Time Lord."_

_"Git."_

_They both laughed a little._

_Once they'd calmed down, Harry asked, "Is there anything we can do? Anything on board the_ Valiant _that won't involve us knowing about whatever you've got Martha doing?"_

_The Doctor considered that, then nodded. "Martha's family. Keep an eye on them. Make sure they're okay." He thought for a little bit more while Harry nodded. "You could always try 'fixing' the ship a bit every now and then," he decided._

_Harry grinned. "Of course. But not until they stop watching us so closely, I think."_

_The Doctor nodded. "That should be enough," he decided._

_Harry gently kissed the top of the Doctor's head. "And I'll visit you, sometimes. Not too hard, you know. I'm the only wizard on board. And it doesn't look like the Master has read Harry Potter."_

_The Doctor laughed. "No. Bit too fantastical for him."_

_Harry grinned. "His loss."_

_"Yes. I rather suppose it is," the Doctor agreed._

_They'd sat there, talking, for a little bit longer before Harry eventually helped the Doctor back into his tent and ghosted back to his own bed._

Eventually, the watch on the UNIT troops had been lifted and they occasionally sabotaged the ship. Little things, which wouldn't prove too serious if not noticed, but would cause a bit of trouble for the Master and his lot. Even before the watch had been lifted, Harry had managed to cause things to go a bit wrong, so the Master never really had cause to suspect it was UNIT.

Harry did call Hermione every couple weeks and check in. Ginny was never spotted, but a three-year-old James was found wandering around the Ministry building after a few days, in tears. Once Molly had gotten him to calm down, he was able to lead her to where Albus had been hidden, half dead from starvation. Both boys were being cared for by their grandmother and Harry had spoken to James a couple of times when he was nearby when Harry rang.

For the most part, the wizards and witches in the Ministry were surviving. The alien tech in the Department had ended up saving a few lives, Hermione reported, since they could replicate food with the machine Harry had used the first time he was down there.

Harry kept his promise to the Doctor and would occasionally stop to talk with one of the Jones family. Francine had introduced him to her ex-husband, Clive, after Harry had sworn he was only working with the Master for now so he could be in a position later to take him down. Eventually, the three Jones also accepted some of the other UNIT troops and they would sometimes sneak things to the family, such as an extra pillow or some bread from supper, since the soldiers were treated better than the near-slaves.

Harry also found a chance to talk to Jack Harkness almost a month after he'd first spoken to the Doctor:

_"So, I've been told you travelled with Rose and the Doctor," Harry commented while on guard duty for the man._

_Jack narrowed his eyes at him and refused to say anything._

_Harry smiled. He'd already dealt with Francine a few weeks ago, so he accepted the distrust without being hurt by it. "Do you miss her? Rose?"_

_"Fuck off," Jack had replied._

_Harry glanced at him. "I do." He looked away, thoughtful. "I was there, you know, at Torchwood. The day the Daleks and the Cybermen came. Well, really, I was in the city. Live in Surrey, me. But I work in London, and I was there when everything was happening. Couldn't see outside, though. Eventually got through to Rose. On her mobile. She told me a bit about what was happening." He glanced at Jack, who was staring at him like he'd never really seen him before. "Doctor took the phone and told me to stay away."_

_"Did you listen?" Jack whispered._

_"Would you have?" Harry replied._

_They both grinned._

_"No. Went outside. Almost got hit by a Dalek, mind." Harry shuddered. "But when they all started getting drawn backwards, I went to the building they were going towards." He swallowed, then, remembering. "I got there too late. Rose's grip was already slipping. Doctor said it was her dad from another dimension what saved her."_

_Jack nodded. "Yeah."_

_They were silent for a long moment._

_"So you know the Doctor?" Jack finally asked._

_Harry shrugged. "Travelled with him a bit. Before he met Rose. We still run into each other sometimes." Harry grinned. "He gave me a mobile so he could find me again. After he regenerated, I mean."_

_"New Doctor, new rules," Jack commented._

_"Tell me about it. No more calling us apes. No more accent."_

_Jack laughed at that. "Loved the accent."_

_"I think we all did," Harry replied, shaking his head. "Rose and I commiserated for a bit about it. When he'd first regenerated."_

_Jack chuckled a bit more, then sighed and shook his head. "If you know the Doctor so well, why are you working for the Master, now?"_

_"Because the Doctor wanted me to," Harry replied, shrugging. "I work for UNIT, and I was one of the troops already assigned up here. When the Master gave us the choice between death and staying alive, the Doctor nodded at me to stay alive. But it's okay. I only swore my gun to him, and I think of them about as well as the the Doctor does."_

_Jack grimaced. "Yeah. He and I have had talks about that."_

_Harry snorted. "Yeah? I take it you like your guns."_

_"Yup."_

_"No wonder he never talks about you."_

_"Hey!"_

_Harry laughed._

After that first conversation, Harry and Jack would occasionally reminisce about Rose and the last Doctor. They'd both laughed to learn that they shared their affection of the Doctor (though Jack did get a bit jealous when Harry accidentally let it slip that he'd slept with the Doctor. Harry saved himself the silent treatment by telling him it had only happened because they'd both been smashed and neither remembered much).

It was barely two months into that year of hell when the Doctor stopped talking. It was a bit unnerving, really, but Harry would still come and visit him at night. He would sit there with the Doctor, just looking out the windows and neither of them would speak.

After a month of it, Harry managed to get guard duty for Jack again.

_"The Doctor won't talk any more," he commented._

_Jack glanced up at him. They'd just been comparing the Doctor's moods now with how they were during his last incarnation. "No? Wonder if it's just to irritate the Master."_

_"No, I mean, he won't talk to me any more. I go up there every few nights and sit with him. We used to talk, but now he just sits there. Won't say a word."_

_"Did you ask him why?" Jack asked._

_Harry nodded. "Wouldn't say. He'd just look really sad and look away from me. I thought I'd done something wrong, at first. But he shook his head when I suggested it."_

_"But didn't actually say anything?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Hmm..."_

_They were silent for a long moment, both thinking._

_"You could stop going to see him for a while. Sorta like you're punishing him, I guess."_

_"I can't do that to him!"_

_"No, wait, listen. Harry..." Jack sighed while Harry glared at him. "I don't mean you're_ actually _punishing him. Just that you're sorta giving him your own silent treatment. Don't visit him for a few weeks, then go by again. See if he'll talk you you then."_

_Harry swallowed. "But I don't want to hurt him like that. He'll think something's happened to me, knowing him."_

_Jack sighed. "And he's not hurting you?"_

_Harry considered that. "We'll see," he decided._

_A week after his talk with Jack, Harry did, in fact, stop going to see the Doctor. He still had duty on the flight deck once a week, but he always spent it not looking in the Doctor's direction._

_Three weeks later, Harry was making his regular call to Hermione when the door to the room opened and he quickly hung up. It was night time and the room wasn't lit, but the hallways were, so it took his some time to recognise the man standing in the doorway. When he finally did, he let out a breath of relief. "Fuck, Doctor," he whispered, waving the man in so the door would close. "You scared me."_

_The Doctor ambled slowly over to the window Harry was leaning against and poked him in the chest. "You've been avoiding me," he rasped._

_"You wouldn't talk to me!" Harry hissed back. "I thought I'd done something wrong."_

_"You didn't. I told you no."_

_"No, you shook your head at me. And you looked so sad when you did it I thought you might be lying to me."_

_"So you decided to avoid me?"_

_"No, I talked to Jack and he suggested I avoid you. I didn't expect you to come_ looking _for me!" Harry rubbed roughly at his hair. "What if someone notices you're missing? The Master will have a_ fit _."_

_"I don't care. You've been avoiding me," the Doctor replied, and he sounded so much like the Doctor as Harry remembered him from before the Master that Harry drew him into a hug, unable to help himself._

_The Doctor hugged him back, tired but determined, and Harry shook his head. "Why wouldn't you talk to me?" he requested._

_The Doctor looked up at him, ancient eyes so very sad. "The Toclafane..." He trailed off and seemed unable to continue._

_Harry sighed. "Oh, Doctor... I don't care if you tell me what you've found out. I just don't want to be given the silent treatment any more. Can you promise me that much, at least?"_

_The Doctor nodded and closed his eyes, resting his head on Harry's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered._

_"I'm sorry too," Harry replied and kissed him on top of his head. "Let's get you back to the flight deck."_

_The Doctor moaned at the thought of walking back._

_Harry chuckled. "I'll apparate us. Hold on..."_

The Doctor continued being silent to the Master and most people who tried to talk to him, but he always spoke to Harry at least some when he came to visit him at night. When Jack had asked him if he knew why the Doctor had fallen silent after Harry thanked him for the idea, Harry had shrugged and said, "Something about the Toclafane. That's all I know." And they'd left it at that.

Eventually, it was time for the launching of the missiles the Master and the Toclafane had been working on. The day before the launch, the Doctor, the Jones family and Jack tried a rebellion, but it had failed. Harry had been off-duty at the time, so he hadn't known about the rebellion until afterwards. He'd been quite cross with the Doctor, but understood that the Doctor didn't want Harry killed or hurt just for helping them.

It hadn't stopped Harry from slipping into the flight deck as soon as the crew left for the night. The Doctor had been aged again, and was about the size of a baby, only he looked so very old. The sight of him cooled Harry's ire some and he walked over to the cage the Doctor now hung in. "Oh, my Doctor..." he whispered.

The Doctor just smiled at him, eyes so very sad.

Harry didn't have a chance to say anything else, for the the door opened. He quickly turned himself invisible and backed away from the Doctor while the Master and his wife, Lucy, walked in.

Harry crouched in a corner and listen in horror as the Master finally explained what the Toclafane were: human beings from the end of the universe.

When the Master and Lucy finally left, Harry crept back over to the Doctor's cage. "It's not your fault," he insisted.

"I fixed the rocket. I sent them out there," the Doctor replied, sounding so tired.

"It's not your fault," Harry repeated. "They would have died anyway. At least sending them to Utopia or whatever gave them hope. Better to face death with hope than with despair."

The Doctor nodded, but didn't look convinced.

Harry took a seat at the table. "Tomorrow is the end, isn't it?" he asked. "Unless..." He glanced up at the Doctor, who managed a faint smile and Harry smiled back. "Miss Martha Jones."

The Doctor nodded, slowly. "If this works, I need that Paradox Machine down."

Harry considered that. He'd seen the TARDIS once, during a late night walk, but it was always guarded by Toclafane. Harry was pretty sure he could get past the future-humans without too much trouble, but the timing would be tricky. "I can be down there and ready," he said very carefully, "but I don't want to set it off too early. And I know you, Doctor. There will be a 'too early'."

The Doctor nodded. "Do you have your sonic screwdriver?"

Harry pulled it out as answer.

The Doctor nodded again. "Give it to Jack. Somehow. I'll have him ring your mobile when it's time."

Harry nodded and put the screwdriver away. "Bit like a pager, then?"

The Doctor smiled. "Just like."

"I'll go get this to him, then," Harry decided, standing. He gently touched the bars of the cage. "Good luck, Doctor."

"You too. Oh, and Harry?"

"Hm?"

"Think of me, during the countdown?"

Harry smiled. "I'm always thinking of you, you git."

"Just... Especially then," he requested, looking hopeful. "And maybe pass it on to Hermione and them?"

Harry nodded and hurried from the room.

-0-

Harry waved to the guard on duty in Jack's holding pin. It was Jacob Ashe, one of the UNIT boys, and he waved back. "Shouldn't you be sleeping, Potter?"

Harry shrugged. "Probably. But I'd like a talk with the Captain here for a moment. Might I?"

Jacob stared at him for a long moment, then nodded and left the cage-like room.

Harry stepped over to Jack. "I've a gift for you, Jack Harkness, but I'll be wanting it back. If you lose it, I might just have your head."

"Which one?" Jack replied.

"Don't be crass." Harry pulled out his sonic screwdriver and showed it to Jack briefly before reaching around and magically attaching it to the middle of the American's back. He added a quick notice-me-not charm as well, to keep anyone else from seeing it.

"Was that what I think it was?" Jack whispered, then, louder, "You just wanted to put your arms around me, didn't you? Can't leave me alone. It's the chains."

"It's the dirty face," Harry shot back, grinning. "You really need a bath. And, yes, it is," he added quietly.

"I'll bathe with you," Jack said, waggling his eyebrows. Harry rolled his eyes. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

"The Doctor will tell you," Harry promised, then reached around and slapped Jack's behind. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting!" Jack called.

Harry grinned a bit madly at Jacob as he came across the younger man. Jacob looked a bit green and smiled back at Harry a bit helplessly. "Was that really necessary?" he pleaded.

"Keeps the in-laws away," Harry replied cheerfully, then wandered down the hall, whistling.

-0-

The next morning, Harry was up, bright and early, and trying to find a way past the so-called Toclafane. He wasn't sure that stunning spells would work, what with their alien tech shell, and he wasn't sure he wanted to try casting the Killing Curse, which was almost certain to work. So that left sneaking in.

And if there was one thing Harry had gotten good at over the years, it was sneaking about. (Well, that and running.)

He just had to make sure he'd be sneaky enough. That meant silencing charms, scent-blocking charms – he wasn't certain they could smell, but he didn't want to test it – invisibility spells and a body heat-blocking spell Harry had made Hermione teach him over the phone the night before. He just hoped he could manage it well enough to get past the creatures.

Humans, he thought, staring at the metal spheres and casting his spells. There are humans in there. Our future. Terrified of the dark and the fires. So they came here. They came here to kill the rest of us. It's them, or us. I must destroy the Paradox Machine. I must save what's left of my family.

Harry took a deep breath and stepped into the room, moving slowly towards the TARDIS. Holding his breath even though it wouldn't make a sound if he didn't.

The TARDIS doors opened silently at his touch and he darted inside, then leaned back against the doors, breathing.

In front of him, the TARDIS was a mess of wires and mesh plating. "Oh..." Harry whispered, stepping forward and not quite touching the plating. For a moment, he swore he felt a thrum of pain, but it was gone quickly, and Harry turned to walk down the hallway of doors to other rooms.

Harry saw the library and a giant pool. He saw the kitchen and med-bay. He happened across his own room, filled with little odds and ends from his travels that he didn't want to take back to Earth, and what must have been Martha's, if the medical notes were anything to go by. He found Rose's old room, with a stuffed bear sitting peacefully in the centre of a bed made up in pinks and purples.

He found the Doctor's room, stark and without any sense of personality, yet completely filled with the man.

His phone beeped a warning: COUNTDOWN START.

Harry leaned against the door frame of the Doctor's room and smiled. If he had to be anywhere to think about the Time Lord, it seemed only right that it was in the doorway of the room where they'd made love. He closed his eyes and remembered laying on that bed with the Doctor. Both Doctors. Two faces meshed together to form one man.

Harry was so lost in memory, he almost didn't hear the angry beeping from his phone.

DESTROY PARADOX.

He ran for the control room, pulling out his wand and thinking of all the spells he could use. Needing something that would destroy the machine, but not hurt the TARDIS.

The blasting curse kept coming back to him, no matter what else he thought of, and he paused in the control room, staring at the mess. Yes, he could probably aim that curse so that it wouldn't harm the TARDIS' central pillar. "I'm sorry," Harry whispered, not sure who he was apologising to. " _Confringo!_ "

The Paradox Machine went up in sparks and Harry was thrown to one side as the world started to spin. He held on to the nearest railing for dear life as everything went a little loony for a moment.

When everything had stopped, he poked his head out of the TARDIS and breathed a sigh of relief to see an empty room. "They're gone." He smiled and patted the door of the TARDIS, then hurried off, back to the flight deck.

Harry was almost run into as he walked into the flight room, but he grabbed the Master before they collided and grinned a bit nastily. "And where do you think _you're_ going? Hm?"

"Harry," the Doctor sighed.

"Sure I can't curse him just a little bit?" Harry pleaded, turning the Master around and walking him back into the room. When the Master struggled a bit, Harry placed his wand against the Time Lord's temple. "Oh, please. _Give_ me a reason."

The Doctor shook his head.

"So what'll we do with him?" Jack asked.

"We kill him," Clive Jones suggested, Tish giving agreement.

"No," the Doctor insisted.

"Oh, I think so," said Francine, holding a gun. "Because all those things, they still happened."

"Francine," the Doctor said very softly, "don't. You're better than him." And he pulled her into a hug when she dropped the gun.

The Master demanded to know what would happen to him, and the Doctor told him he would be taking care of him from then on. Perhaps stop travelling, so he could focus more on watching out for the Master.

And then Lucy Saxon shot the Master.

The Doctor tried to make him regenerate, but the Master refused. He laughed at the thought that, by dying, he had finally won over the Doctor.

And the Doctor cried.

-0-

The TARDIS stopped on her favourite street corner and they all piled out.

"Home, sweet home," Harry muttered, glancing across the road at number four.

"Wait." Martha looked around, disbelieving. "This is Privet Drive!"

Harry smiled at her. "Yup. Moved back here after the war. Even live in number four."

"I have got to read these books," Jack said, shaking his head.

They all laughed a bit at that.

"She really won't remember a thing?" Harry asked the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded. "Nothing. All she might know is that the president was shot, and I doubt she'd care about that."

"Tell me about it. Muggle _and_ American," Harry replied, shaking his head. "No offence, Jack."

"None taken."

Harry grinned at him.

"What will you tell everyone?" Martha asked. "I thought you were required to stay on the _Valiant_ for a year."

Harry nodded. "Yes. But it's been a year, for us, if for no one else. Commander Hill said he'll be turning in his own report on that year. Told us all we were relieved. We've got a month off."

"Are you going to take it?" Jack asked.

Harry considered his home. "Depends on how much Ginny irritates me," he admitted.

The Doctor grinned at him. "Just mention me and she'll leave you alone, I'm sure."

Harry grinned back. "Hm. You might be right about that."

The Doctor nodded. "Well, until the next time, Harry Potter."

Harry hugged him. "Git," he said fondly.

"You know where to find me," Jack said, pulling Harry into a hug.

Harry nodded around. "I might even come visit one of these days. Assuming I can find the way in, of course."

Jack winked.

Harry and Martha shared a hug. "Don't be a stranger," Martha whispered.

Harry nodded.

The others piled back into the TARDIS and Harry stepped back to watch her disappear. Then he turned and walked toward home.

-0-

The months following the year that never was, were difficult. Harry found himself ringing Martha more often than Hermione, because the former remembered what had happened, and the latter was still confused about how two months on the _Valiant_ was really one year. (For all her smarts, Hermione had trouble with the concept that an entire year had happened, then been erased from the minds of all but a handful of people.)

Once or twice, Harry rang up Jack and they met down in Cardiff for a drink. There, Harry met a few of Jack's crew, including the adorable Ianto, who seemed almost jealous of Harry for their first couple of meetings until Jack told him that Harry was both married, and _so_ not interested in Jack. (To which Harry replied, when Jack told him why Ianto had changed his tune, "Muggle _and_ American. Not my thing. No offence, Jack.")

Jack had jokingly suggested he might be able to calm Ginny's ever-present ire, and Harry almost took him up on it. It was the most tempting near the end of Ginny's pregnancy, when she just generally hated Harry for being alive and getting her pregnant, again. (Harry, of course, always muttered back that if she really hadn't wanted another kid, she could have cast a couple of protection spells herself. Or just kicked him out of bed, which she did often enough these days anyway. He'd get hit if she heard him, but at least responding made him feel better.)

Christmas that year was rather dull. Practically all the muggles had left London and the nearby cities in fear of another alien invasion, so that left just the brave few. Or the stubborn, such as Ginny. Harry, of course, was on duty during the days coming up on the holiday; since he'd always had a hand in anything alien over Christmas, he figured he might as well be on hand. (Anyway, as previously stated, Ginny was quite determined to stay at home, especially with a newborn, and Harry had already been hexed twice for suggesting she might like it better with her parents, who were travelling to Romania for the holidays.)

Harry was sitting in his new office in the Department of Mysteries when an alarm on his desk went off. Almost simultaneously, an alarm at the back went off.

Harry checked the device on his desk first, since it was closest. It was a creation all his own, which was set to watch for the TARDIS. Currently, it was giving a steady blink as the ship settled onto a plot of land just the other side of the Thames.

Sighing, Harry went to the machine in the back that was screaming. "What do you... Oh." Harry stared in horror at the bits of debris that were burning in the upper atmosphere. Debris meant something got knocked around a bit, and that much debris meant it was something large. So far, nothing that had fallen looked to be a problem, but Harry used his sonic screwdriver to extend the range of the machine and cursed at the ship that was causing the debris.

He pulled out his phone and rang the UNIT headquarters.

"UNIT Control," the pleasant voice of an American woman said.

"Yes, this is UNIT base forty-two. I'm picking up some debris in the upper atmosphere and I was wondering if you were seeing it also?"

There was a pause and the sound of some switches being flicked. "Yes, I see it. There doesn't seem to be any danger from any of it."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but the ship that got hit and is raining the debris is still up there."

"We're not reading any ships over here."

"Yeah, I know." Harry sighed and rubbed at his face. "I extended our scanners. I'm going to send my readings to you." He flicked a couple of switches and typed in the address of the recipient, then sent it.

Harry could tell when the woman got it because her language got rather colourful.

Harry smiled to himself. "So far as I can tell, the Doctor's up there, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. But I thought I'd best send word. Just so we're not caught out if something goes wrong."

"Good decision," the woman said, trying to regain her calm and pleasant manner. "Send us a report every hour, and call again if something happens." She paused, then, "Did you say the Doctor?"

Harry chuckled. "Yes, ma'am. I'll let you know if anything changes." He hung up. "Such as a call from the git explaining what in all of time and space is going on," he added to himself, then set about telling the machine to send hourly reports and reset the alarm to go off if the ship in orbit started getting any closer.

Then he went back to his desk and pulled out a book to read. There was no use stressing over a ship in orbit until said ship started doing something.

-0-

A couple of hours later, the ship started doing something, and that something was falling to Earth.

Harry shut off the alarms and rang UNIT at the same time. The same woman answered the phone. "That ship's started moving!"

"We see it now. God, it's a big one." There was a pause, then, "It's heading in your direction, base forty-two. I need you to evacuate all your personal."

"Hmm... Will do," Harry replied, then shot a spell at the emergency button against the far wall that would tell everyone in the Ministry to evacuate. "Well, control, lovely talking to you. Hope to do it again, sometime."

"Good luck, base forty-two," the woman replied, then hung up.

Harry groaned and grabbed his coat and the TARDIS Tracker from his desk before hurrying out of the Department of Mysteries. He glanced at the coordinates on the tracker and shrugged, then apparated there, figuring that, if something went down, he'd be safe in the TARDIS.

Outside, Harry could see with the naked eye what he'd been watching on the scanners: A giant ship – which appeared to be a replica of one of the old Earth steamliners, if Harry was remembering what he'd learned in muggle primary school correctly – was moving steadily towards London.

Harry crossed his fingers and kept watching the ship. Hoping, hoping...

Suddenly, the engines ignited and the ship started going back up.

"Yes!" Harry laughed and leaned back against the TARDIS. "He did it..."

Harry's mobile rang and he pulled it out. "Potter."

"Base forty-two?" the American woman Harry had been speaking to asked.

Harry laughed again. "Yes, ma'am."

"Glad to hear you're still alive, soldier. Any idea what happened?"

Harry shook his head. "If I'd have to guess, I'd say the engines reignited and they had one _hell_ of a pilot."

"I'll put that down in the official record, then. As our best guess."

"Yes, ma'am. And happy Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Mr Potter," the woman replied and hung up.

Harry sighed and put his mobile away, then glanced back up at the TARDIS. He had two choices now: He could go back to work for another hour until he was relieved, then go home and spend Christmas with a, no doubt, grumpy Ginny. Or he could wait here, next to the TARDIS, and spend whatever was left of his Christmas with the Doctor when he finally came down to get her.

Harry patted the side of the wooden box and leaned back against her again. "I think I deserve a bit of a holiday," he commented. "Been a long year. If you don't mind, my girl, I think I'll just sit around with you for a while."

The TARDIS door popped open and a draft of warm air with the scent of hot chocolate drifted out to him.

Harry laughed and hopped inside.

-0-

It was evening when the Doctor finally returned, and Harry probably would have slept right through it, but the TARDIS woke him from his nap.

"What?" Harry whined, sitting up from the Doctor's bed, where he'd laid down just to rest his eyes for a moment.

The TARDIS screeched again, sound coming from the control room, so Harry sighed and wandered down the hall to see what she wanted.

The view screen had been twisted so Harry could see it when he stepped out into the control room and it showed a picture of the Doctor, talking to an older bloke just outside. Harry blinked at it for a moment, then shrugged and walked over to the doors. He was just about to open the doors when he heard the Doctor say, "I travel alone."

Harry paused, hand on the door, then pulled back. He wasn't quite sure if the Doctor was saying that just to keep the older gentleman outside from trying to come with him, or because he really _did_ want to travel alone for a while.

The TARDIS lights flashed at him and he felt a sudden feeling of welcome.

Harry glanced at the control panel. "You've gotten awfully talkative since you got cannibalised for a Paradox Machine. Does the Doctor know that?"

Harry got the distinct sensation that he'd just been shown the TARDIS' back side, assuming she _had_ a back side. He laughed and plopped down in the chair. "I think we'll wait to surprise him until he gets rid of the bloke, eh?"

They sat in silence for a long few minutes while the Doctor saw the gentleman off. He opened the door a bit at one point, but didn't actually come in right away.

When he did finally come in, Harry asked, "So, do you travel alone only when older blokes are trying to hitch a ride, or does that count for us younger ones too?"

The Doctor blinked a few times, then grinned. "Harry Potter! How'd you get in here?"

"TARDIS let me in, actually. I think she misses me," Harry replied, grinning and hopping out of the chair.

The Doctor glanced up at the central pillar. "Makes two of us, then," he admitted, then leant back against one of the coral-like decorations. "Are you staying for a bit, then? Or am I just your ride home?"

Harry walked over to him. "Oh, I was hoping you'd let me sign back on for a couple of months. Earth rather bores me of late. I'd like to go out and see the stars."

The Doctor smiled and pulled Harry into a hug, which Harry happily returned. "Oh, I'd hoped you'd say that."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of you have commented that Ginny isn't really such a bad lass, considering what a bad husband and father Harry's been. Figured I should probably address that, as, yes, their problems are somewhat Harry's fault, but the fault doesn't lie with him alone.  
> A large part of their marriage has always been based on Ginny's long-standing awe of Harry Potter and Harry's love of the entire Weasley family. (This seemed true to me even in the books.) And, no matter who you are, that's no basis for a marriage. Add in a friend who Harry grew to love after travelling for a bit and it just gets more complicated, especially since Ginny hates the Doctor so much. Really, Ginny's demands that Harry stay away from the Doctor just made him want to see the Time Lord that much more.  
> Harry is very attached to his job. Even in canon, he seemed the sort to be attached to his job. Not so much because he loved doing it as that he needed to do his job for the future of his family, so he could live knowing his children and nieces and nephews and godson would all have a better world to grow up in than he did. Just because he's fighting aliens now instead of Dark wizards doesn't make that any less important.  
> I do hope that helps a bit.

"So why are we sneaking around this building again?" Harry asked as the Doctor led the way into the Adipose building.

"Because it's weird."

"What's weird about a diet plan that works?"

The Doctor grinned at him. "Other than everything?"

"Ah. Good point." Harry shook his head. "So, while you're creeping about upstairs, watching the presentation for Health and Safety, what am I doing?"

The Doctor blinked. "Coming with me?"

"What, and have two of us use one piece of paper? I think not!" Harry shook his head. "What's the name of the woman who owns this company? Foster?"

"Sounds about right."

"Good. I'll be in her office. Ring me," Harry held up his mobile, "when you're heading out and I'll meet you."

"Mmm... Stay out of trouble, you."

"Listen to your own advice for once!" Harry retorted, catching a lift up to the floor Foster's office was on.

-0-

The lock hadn't put up much of a fight, and neither had the guard, who Harry had stunned and Obliviated. The files behind Foster's desk had some incriminating information in them, but nothing the Doctor hadn't already surmised on their way over.

Harry was about to give it up as a bad job when he spotted something in Foster's pen-catch. "Hello," he whispered, picking the false pen up, "you don't belong here." He considered the pen for a moment, then clicked it. It made a curious noise, then a thin laser shot out the side where the pen tip would have been, making a hole in the ground right next to Harry's foot. Harry clicked it off and grinned. "Gotcha."

Voices sounded in the hallway. This was the only room down this hallway, so they must have been heading there. Harry shot a quick _rennervate_ towards the guard, then apparated back downstairs to where he'd left the Doctor earlier. He leaned against a wall and pulled out his sonic screwdriver to examine the laser pen while he waited.

He didn't have to wait long. The lift dinged after a few minutes and the Doctor stepped out, mobile from Martha in his hand. "Ah. You beat me."

Harry grinned and tossed him the pen. "Laser. It was on her desk."

"Mmm. Aliens?" the Doctor surmised, using his own sonic screwdriver to examine the pen. "Ooh. It doubles as a torch. Look." He clicked the button again and the pen tip glowed with a pale white light. "Clever." He made to stuff it in his pocket.

"Oiy! Finders, keepers, git." Harry held out a hand for the pen.

The Doctor considered him for a moment, then handed it back. "What are you planning to do with it, then?"

Harry shrugged. "Murderous torch that looks like a pen? I think I'll use it to light dark tunnels when their are muggles about."

The Doctor laughed and handed Harry a sheet of paper. "Names and addresses of people using Adipose. Let's each try one."

Harry considered his sheet, then snorted. "She's a witch," he commented, pointing to a name on the list.

"Good. You take her, then, my very visible wizard friend, and I'll take..." The Doctor closed his eyes and randomly pointed at a spot on his own sheet. "This bloke, here."

"And here I was, hoping you'd spot an alien and take them on," Harry joked as they made for the exit.

"I can't, actually, spot aliens by looking at their names, you know. Anyway, seems like we'll be taking on an alien here in this very building."

"Ah. Point."

-0-

Harry was woken the next morning by his mobile. "Potter," he mumbled.

"Any updates on Adipose?" Mary-Beth asked from the other end.

Harry groaned and dropped his head back onto the pillows. An arm snaked around his middle and pulled him closer to the other man in the bed, instantly making Harry feel a little better. "We've only had a day on the case, Mary-Beth. You can't go around expecting miracles."

"This is you and the Doctor we're talking about," Mary-Beth retorted. "I can and do expect miracles."

"Miracles never come to those who expect them," the Doctor muttered.

Harry snorted. "We talked to some people yesterday. Found a laser pen in Foster's office that's too advanced for Earth. We're going back in tonight for some snooping after the lights go out. I'll ring you as soon as we know something."

"Potter, knowing how you work, the whole city will know when you've learned something," Mary-Beth replied drily.

"We'll try not to blow anything up this time," Harry promised, eyeing the Doctor over his shoulder. The Doctor just grinned.

"Don't go draining any bodies of water, either," Mary-Beth suggested, then hung up.

Harry dropped his mobile back on the table and turned around to snuggle against the Doctor. "What time is it?" he asked the man.

The Doctor considered that for a moment. "Seven."

Harry groaned. "Bloody woman."

The Doctor chuckled and kissed his human bed mate, then slipped out of the bed. "Might as well make our way over there."

"They don't open until nine," Harry replied, burying his face into a pillow.

The Doctor paused to consider that, then sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Good point. But I'm awake now."

Harry peeked an eye up at him from the pillow. "I've a couple of ideas."

The Doctor grinned.

-0-

"I still don't understand why we can't just wait to pop in until they close for the night. It's not like we have to go in the front door like your average muggle," Harry pointed out as the crept back into the Adipose building.

The Doctor shrugged. "The TARDIS scanned the building last night and noticed something odd."

"Is that why she was beeping at you so insistently when we walked into the control room?"

The Doctor grinned.

Harry rolled his eyes.

They stopped in front of a janitor's closet.

"Oh, I can make up so many bad jokes about this," Harry commented as they squeezed inside. "And I'll bet, if Jack were here, he could come up with even more."

"Best Jack isn't here," the Doctor replied, shoving at the false wall to open it. "We'd be a bit too cosy."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

The Doctor eyed Harry curiously. "No, I dare say he wouldn't. You could vanish some of the clutter."

"Mmm... I begin to see why you drag me along on these sorts of trips," Harry commented with a grin, then started vanishing clutter.

The Doctor probed at the alien tech in the wall and muttered under his breath to himself a few times. Finally, after Harry had vanished all the cleaning supplies and was enlarging the room to amuse himself, the Doctor said, "Can't get in."

Harry finished his spell and knelt down next to the Doctor. "Deadlock?"

"Mmm... Triple."

Harry nodded and considered their options. "Well, you could spend all day hacking into it, or we can go out and have a bit of fun, then come back and try her office once everyone's gone home?"

"That's assuming she _goes_ home," the Doctor replied drily.

"Either way, there'll be less witnesses if I stun her," Harry pointed out.

The Doctor considered the options for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Right. Museum?"

Harry laughed and helped the Doctor to stand up. "You're a fun date."

"Oiy! I like museums!"

"S'ok. So do I. Come on."

"You're not just saying that, are you? Because we can go some–"

Harry grabbed the Doctor's arm and dragged him out of the closet. "Come on, you git. Museum."

The Doctor grinned.

-0-

Harry apparated them up to the roof shortly after six. "You're sure about this?" he asked, eyeing the window-washing contraption hanging over the edge.

The Doctor nodded. "She might have something to recognise other aliens wired up in her office, especially if she's doing something illegal. It won't be set for humans, so you'll be safe."

Harry sighed. The Doctor had a suspicion that Ms Foster was doing something illegal, and since she'd triple deadlocked the tech in the wall, that meant it was pretty likely she'd have booby-trapped her office. Which meant only Harry could get in without setting it off. So Harry would go in and poke around a bit more while the Doctor sat outside as back-up in case Harry either needed him to get into the tech – assuming it wasn't also deadlocked in her office – or needed a distraction to get out of there.

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, shaking his head. "Motion to me when you're in position."

The Doctor grinned at him, then hopped up into the contraption and started down. Harry leaned over the edge of the building and waited until the Doctor waved at him before apparating into the office.

Harry was barely there long enough to walk behind Foster's desk to the wall which his sonic screwdriver said hid the tech, when the door of the office opened. With a silent curse, Harry made himself invisible and shrank back into a corner as Foster and her two constant goons came in, dragging a woman behind them.

It turned out the woman's name was Penny and she had noticed a lot of the same warning signs about the company that UNIT had. She was intending to print them in the papers and Harry rolled his eyes. Muggles.

Not to say that a magical reporter in Penny's position wouldn't have said the same thing. But, then again, a magical reporter wouldn't have cared about a muggle business, no matter how many magical customers they had.

Foster happily informed Penny about what Adipose was, doing a lot of Harry and the Doctor's research for them.

Harry was just thinking that he'd have to find a way out, since Foster seemed to be a bit busy with Penny and didn't look to be leaving any time soon when Foster suddenly stopped talking. Harry looked up to see what had stopped her and saw the Doctor, apparently enthralled by something across from him, which Harry couldn't see.

"Are we interrupting you?" Foster asked.

The Doctor mouthed, 'Run!' and pulled out his sonic screwdriver to lock the door to the office to give whoever he'd been talking to time to escape, while Foster sent her goons after them. Then the Doctor used his sonic to zap himself back up to the roof.

Foster's goons shot the door down, then they and Foster herself left the office.

Harry figured that the Doctor could probably take care of himself and whoever he'd seen just fine, so he slipped around the table he'd hidden behind and tried to figure out how to open the wall.

"Who's there?" Penny demanded, still tied up.

Harry banished his invisibility and waved at her. "Hello. Fancy meeting you here."

Penny stared at him while Harry turned back to the wall. After a moment, she demanded, "Are you just going to leave me tied up, then?"

"Ah. Sorry about that." Harry waved his wand behind him to free her, not bothering to look away from the wall and the readings he was getting from his screwdriver. Definite alien tech, part of whatever was downstairs, and a gentle shove wasn't going to get this door open.

Harry turned around to check the desk for more alien tech, only to find Penny going through a file folder. He took a deep breath. "Look, you're best off running. Don't stay around and poke about in things. Just get out."

"And what about you, then?" Penny demanded, glaring up at him.

Harry rolled his eyes. "First off, I came with a partner, who is perfectly capable of both distracting Foster and keeping just out of her reach. Second, I'm with the government, so I have the papers to be in here. You _don't_. Now run along and let the officials deal with this."

"And never let the public know?" Penny snapped. "London must be told about the–"

"You reporters and your high horses!" Harry snapped back. "Always deciding what the _public_ needs to know, never caring about government laws protecting some secrets or about the feelings of the people you're reporting about. You lot are _despicable_. And–"

Harry's rant was cut off by something kicking the window.

"The hell?" he muttered, walking over to the window and peeking up. It only took him a moment to recognise the woman hanging outside the window and he forced it open. "Donna?!"

The woman in question looked down at him. "Harry!" she wailed.

"Bloody hell, woman," Harry said, shaking his head. He pulled his wand out and cast the levitation charm. "Let go of the beam, Donna!"

"I'll _fall_!"

"No, you won't! I've got you!"

"I'll _fall_!"

Harry closed his eyes for patience then stuck his head out the window. "Donna, either you let go, or I make you let go!"

Donna considered that for a moment, then let go. She hung in the air for a long moment, then Harry gently levitated her down and helped her into the office. There, she hugged him. "I thought I was gonna die!"

Harry grinned. "Nah. Wouldn't have let you. You'd have come back from beyond the grave to scream at us."

Donna laughed a bit weakly at that.

The Doctor dashed in, then grinned madly when he saw Donna standing with Harry. "Good show. Wasn't sure you were still in here."

Harry shrugged. "Couldn't get that bloody door open."

"S'ok. _I've_ got a sonic pen," the Doctor replied, twirling said pen.

"Fancy. Downstairs, then?" Harry decided, motioning that they should make for the door.

"Brilliant." The Doctor turned and led the charge back out again, leaving Penny with her files.

Out in the office, they met Foster and her goons. "Well then," she said, taking off her glasses. "At last. And you've added to your number."

"Hello," Donna said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said.

"Harry."

"And I'm Donna."

"Partners in crime," Foster said. "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."

"Oh yes. I've still got your sonic pen," the Doctor replied, pulling out said pen. "Nice. I like it. Very sleek." He grinned and wiggled it. "And if you were to sign your real name, that would be...?"

"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten, Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class."

"A wet-nurse," the Doctor realised. "Using humans as surrogates."

"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."

"What do you mean, lost? How do you lose a planet?"

"Oh, the politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."

"What, like an outer space super nanny?" Donna asked.

"Yes, if you like."

"So, so those little things, they're made out of fat, yeah? But that woman, Stacie Campbell, there was nothing left of her."

"Oh, in a crisis, the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things," Foster explained, making a little pouty face.

"What about poor Stacie?" Donna asked.

The Doctor did not look amused. "Seeding a level five planet is against galactic law."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm trying to help you, Matron," the Doctor replied. "This is your one chance. 'Cause if you don't call this off, then I'll have to stop you."

"I hardly think you can stop bullets," Foster replied and her two goons cocked their guns.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on!" the Doctor shouted, reaching into his jacket pocket. "Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices together?" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

"The aurors come down on your heads," Harry replied drily, then shot off two quick stunning spells before grabbing Donna and the Doctor and apparating them down to the closet they'd found the terminal in that morning. "I swear to Merlin, Doctor, if you do that again, I'll kill you."

The Doctor grinned and pushed open the door to the closet.

"Well," Donna said, looking in after the Doctor. "That's one solution, hiding in a cupboard. I like it." She glanced around a bit. "Bit bigger than they usually are. Cleaner, too."

"Yeah, we were down here earlier," Harry replied as the Doctor shoved the wall back to reveal the terminal. "Great, big alien computer hooked up throughout the building. Couldn't get in, earlier."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "But now I've got this." He held up the pen.

"She does like her pens," Harry commented, leaning against the wall next to the Doctor and obediently holding a handful of wires the Time Lord gave him. Seeing Donna's confused look, Harry dug the laser pen out of his pocket. "Found this on her desk yesterday. It's a laser, but it can also act as a very cool torch." He shoved it back into his pocket, grinning. "These aliens come up with some of the coolest stuff."

"I'll take that as a compliment," the Doctor muttered, attaching wires to the terminal.

"Figured out what it's for, yet?" Harry asked.

"Nope." The Doctor grabbed a wire from Harry and sonic'd it. "Donna, I thought you were going travelling?" he called over his shoulder, to where Donna was still leaning in the doorway, watching them.

That got Donna talking. The Doctor kept working while she told them about her failed attempt at travelling. She finished with commenting that she must have been mad to turn down that offer.

"What offer?" the Doctor asked, not completely paying attention.

"To come with you."

The Doctor turned to look at her, blinking. "Come with me?"

"Oh yes, please," Donna replied, looking hopefully between the Doctor and Harry, who was looking just as surprised.

The Doctor blinked again, but before he could respond, the machine said, " _Inducer activated_."

"What's it doing that for?" Donna asked, stepping into the closet.

"She's started the program!" the Doctor said, then started working a bit faster to turn off the computer, talking about how Foster had switched the Adipose to full strength, which meant they'd convert everything. People would die.

He pulled out the little capsule he'd gotten from his last visit and hooked it up, but the power was just increased and the Doctor got a little panicked.

Harry grabbed his shoulder. "Breathe. We can still stop it," he said in a firm voice. "What do we need?"

The Doctor nodded. "Second capsule," he said.

Harry was just about to apparate up to the offices and hope he could find one when Donna pulled one out of her suit. They all froze and stared at each other before laughing a little. Then the Doctor grabbed it and hooked it up, killing the computer completely.

They were all breathing a sigh of relief when they heard something a bit loud and rather impressive above them.

"What's that?" Donna asked.

"The nursery," the Doctor replied.

"Oh boy," Harry said, rubbing at his forehead.

"Shouldn't we be going to stop them?" Donna asked as the terminal switched back on.

"Hold on," said the Doctor, leaning forward. "It's instructions from the Adiposian First Family." He read them quietly for a bit, then, "Oh. Oh. We're not the ones in trouble now; she is!" He dashed for the door.

Harry shook his head as Donna rushed after the Doctor. "Muggles," he muttered, then apparated to the roof. When the Doctor and Donna finally got up there, he rose an eyebrow at them and the Doctor grinned while Donna glared.

"What are you going to do?" Donna asked as they all stood there, watching the Adipose float up towards the spaceship. "Blow them up?"

"They're just children," the Doctor replied. "They can't help where they came from."

"Well, that's a change from last time," Donna commented.

"This time, they're not about to eat every human on Earth," Harry replied drily, then shot an innocent smile at Donna when she frowned at him.

A couple of the Adipose waved at them and they all waved back. "I'm waving at fat," Donna said, somewhat disbelieving.

"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works," the Doctor commented with a smile. "There she is!" He jumped forward as Foster came into sight, being held up by the tractor beam. "Matron Cofelia! Listen to me!" the Doctor shouted.

"Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it'll be too soon," Foster replied.

The Doctor groaned. "Why does no one ever listen? I'm trying to help! Just... get across to the roof! Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What? So you can arrest me?"

"Listen. I saw the Adiposian instructions. They know that it's a crime. Breeding on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice."

"I'm far more than that," Foster replied. "I'm nanny. To all these children." She looked up at the ship, smiling.

"Exactly! Mum and dad have got the kids now. They don't _need_ the nanny any more!" the Doctor said.

Foster looked down to smile at him, but the tractor beam chose that moment to switch off.

"Harry!" the Doctor shouted, but Harry already had his wand out and was casting the levitation charm to catch Foster.

Harry carefully brought her over to the roof as the ship streaked away. Foster had a shocked expression on her face as she was set down on the roof and crumpled to her knees. Harry knelt in front of her, smiling. "Since you mentioned it, Matron, I think I will arrest you. UNIT will have some questions for you. But, don't worry, they're a bit nicer about it than, say, the Judoon." He shot some ropes at her from the end of his wand and grinned up at the Doctor and Donna. "Alright?"

The Doctor shrugged. "It's your planet."

"Glad we agree," Harry said, then pulled out his mobile to call UNIT Headquarters and request for someone to come out and pick Foster up for questioning.

After Harry put his mobile away, they stood around for a bit, Foster still looking shocked while the Doctor and Harry avoided looking at each other and Donna looked between the two men with a frown.

Finally, Donna turned to Harry. "You're travelling with him, then?"

Harry shrugged. "Have been, yeah. Need to get back home, though, for a bit. Haven't seen my kids in almost a year now. S'only been been a month or so for them, but..." He shrugged again. "You really want to go travelling with him?" he asked.

Donna nodded and looked at the Doctor. "If that's okay with you, Doctor?"

"Take her," Harry said, firmly. "I need some time with my family. Before Ginny strangles me, preferably." He grinned.

The Doctor smiled back. "Like I said before, just mention my name and it'll make everything better."

The two laughed and the last bit of awkward disappeared. They'd known when they started this mission that Harry would need to stay at home for a bit, and ignoring that had been easy while on the mission, but once it was over...

"Take her," Harry repeated, smiling at Donna. "You're happier when you've got someone around to jabber at. And Donna might actually be able to keep up with you. Possibly even surpass you."

The Doctor nodded. "Will you be okay?" he asked, referring to the reason Harry originally decided to travel with him again, which was to get away from the people who didn't remember the year they'd spent aboard the _Valiant_.

Harry smiled at him and nodded. "I'll be brilliant," he replied. "So stop worrying. You're worse than Mum."

The Doctor gave a mock shudder. "Worse than Molly Weasley? You wound me!"

Donna looked between them and shook her head. "Men," she said.

The Doctor chuckled. "Did you tell them you were on the roof?" he asked Harry.

"Nope." Harry shrugged. "Probably best take her down, hm?"

"Probably," the Doctor agreed.

So they all trooped downstairs, Harry leading Foster, and met the UNIT men sent to pick up their alien friend downstairs. The four men all saluted the Doctor and Harry, making the Doctor groan, then shuffled Foster into their convoy and drove off.

Harry turned to the Doctor and Donna. "Well, then! I'll be off. Probably have to explain the giant spaceship to Ginny." He gave a long-suffering sigh.

Donna grinned and they shared a quick hug. "Tell your wife hello for me," she said, sounding almost like she knew Ginny personally.

"Is there something I should know?" Harry asked, suspicious.

Donna shrugged. "Went by your house a few times, looking for you. But you were always off at work or, I guess, with the Doctor."

Harry snorted. "She probably thinks you're another stalker."

"You get stalkers?" Donna replied, looking incredulous.

"Are you kidding? Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world?" Harry laughed. "Get them all the time. Sometimes I see them at work, getting dragged off by some of the other aurors."

Donna shook her head. "Unbelievable."

Harry grinned. "That's me!" Then he turned to the Doctor. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. You've got my number."

Harry nodded. "So I do," he agreed.

Donna rolled her eyes at them. "I'm going to grab my things from my car," she told them, then turned and walked off.

The Doctor blinked after her. "What was that all about?" he asked.

Harry laughed and grabbed the Time Lord's tie. "I think we were being transparent. Kiss, then I'm off."

The Doctor sighed and shook his head in disbelief, then leaned down far enough to kiss the wizard. "Don't go getting yourself killed by Dark wizards while I'm gone."

"And don't you get yourself killed by aliens," Harry replied, grinning. "I'd rather not have to get used to another new face, thanks."

"Makes two of us," the Doctor replied.

Harry laughed and, after checking for muggles, apparated back home.

-0-

"You know, Harry, you'd probably be better off if you officially transferred to the Unspeakables," Ron pointed out. "You're on missions for them more often then you're at your own desk here, and everyone already considers you one of them." He shrugged. "Might keep this from happening, too," he added, jerking his head towards the door they'd just walked out of.

On the other side of the door were a couple of teenage wizards who had been causing trouble starting during the month that Harry had been gone with the Doctor. The boys would do something stupid around a muggle, then apparate away as soon as the aurors showed up; until Harry had been part of the auror squad sent to grab them, then they both knelt in front of him and let him cuff them to be taken in for questioning.

It wasn't the first time they'd had a case like it, and the perpetrators had always acted out just so they could tell their mates that Harry Potter had arrested them.

"Don't think I haven't considered it," Harry replied, knocking his head against the far wall. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to have a friend out-rank you in a month?" he added, referring to Martha, who had joined UNIT shortly after the year that never was and currently out-ranked him. Of course, Harry was still on the official books as a part-time member of UNIT – even though they'd started using him like he was full-time since the year that never was – so he didn't really have a rank above civilian. Even Hermione out-ranked him.

Ron just shook his head. He still didn't get the whole alien thing, or why someone would want to be working in the Department when they could be working in the Aurors, doing the same things, but with a higher chance of survival. He understood Dark wizards, he didn't understand aliens. However, his best friend and his wife loved their job, and Ron did his best to support them, even if he _did_ think they were barmy.

Harry shook his head. "Maybe I'll talk to Jeff," he decided, nodding towards the Head Auror's office. "Even _he's_ treating me more like an Unspeakable, these days."

Ron snorted. "Yeah, really. I was actually surprised when he called you to help in catching those guys. We all were."

Harry grimaced. He, himself, had been rather shocked when he'd been called out. Even after almost two months back from his latest trip with the Doctor, he wasn't often called for auror duty.

Harry shook his thoughts away and waved at Ron, then wandered over to the Head Auror's office. He knocked on the door frame and poked his head inside the room. "Jeff? Can I talk to you?"

"Oh, Harry!" Jeff Branstien smiled at him from his desk. "Please, come in. I hear you and Ron finally caught those thugs."

Harry sighed and took the chair in front of Jeff's desk. "They sort of offered themselves up," he commented.

Jeff grimaced. "So it was that sort. Sorry, Harry. Should have sent you out sooner."

Harry shrugged. "Couldn't have known," he replied, then sighed again. "Jeff, would you be terribly cross with me if I transferred permanently to the Unspeakables?"

Jeff shook his head. "Not really. I'd half expected you to do it a couple of months ago, after you got back. Why all of a sudden?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Feeling a bit out of place. And Ron is thinking that if I officially transfer, you might stop getting kids like these ones."

Jeff chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Ron might be right." He pulled something out of a drawer and handed it over to Harry. "Official transfer form. Have at."

Harry considered the form, which had already been mostly filled out by Jeff and the Unspeakable Head. "You lot have just been waiting for me to bring it up, haven't you?" he accused.

Jeff nodded, unashamed. "Been waiting since you said you were going to take that assignment on that sky ship of the muggles'. Almost gave it to you then, but the Department of Mysteries Head suggested we wait until you came to one of us."

Harry sighed and stood. "Yeah, yeah. I'll finish filling it out and send it to Records. Am I expected to move downstairs today?"

Jeff chuckled at that. "Aren't you already mostly moved down there?"

Harry nodded. "Well, yeah. But, you know what I mean."

Jeff chuckled some more. "We'll have a party for you tomorrow. Go pack up what's left of your desk, Unspeakable."

Harry shook his head and wandered off to do just that.

-0-

Two months later, Harry was sitting in his new office in the Department, grinning around at the walls. He'd never had an actual office before, despite his official auror rank, but he'd just been promoted to major by UNIT, which not only got him a corner office, but also put him at a higher rank than both Hermione and Mary-Beth.

Technically, his rank was about the same as Martha's, who was a medical officer and not an actual soldier. Both of them had experience on the field, unlike some other officers who shared their rank, and they also had off-world experience, which no one else in UNIT seemed to have. (Well, except for a general Martha had heard about one afternoon who had been to the moon, once.) Both of them had joked, on occasion, that they should have higher ranks, since they had more experience than anyone else they knew of in UNIT.

Harry had almost been upset that his UNIT rank was lower than his auror rank, but had admitted, if only to himself, that the aurors were a smaller group, so ranks were generally a bit easier to come by than in UNIT, which was a huge organization. More-over, holding the rank of colonel in the aurors hadn't meant a lot, but holding it in UNIT meant he was expected to be in charge of a group of men, which Harry wasn't completely comfortable with. For now, he was content to have charge over the small group of men and women in the Department that he'd been given.

Harry was just about to pull out a file to work on when a knock came at the door frame and a grinning face poked in. "Hey, Harry."

"Martha Jones!" Harry hopped up from his chair and met her for a hug. "What brings you to my corner of the world?"

Martha took a seat as Harry returned to behind his desk. "Couple of things," she said. "Heard about your promotion and came to congratulate you, for one."

Harry snorted. "I'm only a major, Martha. Nothing special about that."

Martha winked. "Sure there is." They both chuckled at that. "But, really, I came to offer you a chance to cause some mayhem with me."

"Oh? I'm listening." Harry leaned forwards, looking eager.

Martha snorted. "You've been spending too much time with the Doctor."

"Oh, come on. I haven't even heard from him for four months."

"You know what I mean."

They both grinned.

"Okay, then. What's this mayhem we're causing?" Harry leaned back in his chair, still grinning.

Martha sighed and pushed something across the clean desk. "I know you don't own a car, but surely you've heard of ATMOS?" she replied in a serious tone.

Harry took the file, all signs of a smile gone as he flipped through it. "Yeah. We've got it in the Department van," he said, referring to the single vehicle the Department owned, just in case they needed to get somewhere in a muggle manner. "Bloody hate the thing, myself, but a couple of them love it. Purebloods, mostly. Drives the van for them." He motioned behind Martha to include everyone outside the office. "Ooh... That's interesting..." he murmured, reading over the specs of one of the boxes.

"It's almost as bad as Lazarus," Martha commented, referencing the too-advanced technology that Lazarus had been using which the Master had helped him create.

Harry nodded, flipping the page. "Fifty-two simultaneous deaths? All across the globe?" he asked, looking up at Martha in disbelief. "That's not statistically possible. Is it?" He frowned and looked back down at the report. "I may not know much about muggle cars, but even I know that shouldn't have happened."

"My thoughts exactly." Martha leaned forward. "Headquarters wants it checked out, so they've got Colonel Mace leading a team to take out one of the factories. I'll be with them and I think it would be nice if we had another experienced eye on board."

Harry hummed. "The Doctor?"

Martha laughed and leaned back in her chair. "Yes, him too, but I really meant you. You're experienced, same as me, but you've also got a weapon what no one else in this group will have; you've got magic."

Harry considered her. "Is it okay if I bring a couple of my people with me, do you think? Not so much soldiers – Merlin knows we'll have enough of those! – but people like Hermione? Scientists, like."

Martha nodded slowly. "I don't see why it would be a problem, really. I can phone Mace if you want to round up the people you want?"

Harry grinned and stood up from behind his desk. "Have you got one of the Doctor's special phones?"

Martha pulled it out. "Yes. Why?"

"Normal muggle phones don't work down here," Harry replied. "I'll be back."

-0-

"He put you in charge of calling the strike?" Harry asked, leaning against the wall next to Martha. The UNIT troops, as well as Harry's hand-picked magical group, were all waiting just out of sight of the giant factory they were standing near. Martha had just rung the Doctor and told him to come down, so she and Harry were waiting for the TARDIS to land.

"Yes he did."

"Blimey. Either he really trusts you, or you've got more weight to throw around in UNIT than I have in the Ministry."

Martha laughed.

They both turned at the sound of the TARDIS materialising. The door creaked open and out peeked a head of tousled hair. As soon as the Doctor saw them, he grinned and waved, then hopped out of the TARDIS and walked forwards. "Martha Jones and Harry!"

Martha hurried forward and got a hug, laughing a bit. "It's good to see you, Doctor."

"It's good to see you, too." The Doctor looked up at Harry, who was still leaning against the wall and grinning. "Both of you." He looked back down at Martha. "How's your family?"

"Recovering," Martha replied, still smiling.

Donna stepped out of the TARDIS, looking a bit uncertain. She saw Harry and smiled at him, waving a bit.

Harry grinned back and finally pushed off from the wall to walk over and hug Donna. "Hullo, Donna. Good to see he hasn't lost you or some such."

"Oiy!"

"So this is the mysterious Donna?" Martha asked, smiling at the older female.

Harry nodded. "Donna, Martha. Martha, Donna." He grinned up at the Doctor. "Oh, and, hullo. Git."

The Doctor laughed then and swept Harry up in a hug, earning him a cry of, "Put me down this _instant_ , you bloody giant!"

"You were trying to ignore me!" the Doctor said, setting Harry back on his feet.

"Nah. Just letting everyone know who's more important," Harry replied.

"Now who's the git?" the Doctor demanded, but he was grinning like a loon.

"Mad, those two," Donna commented, then held out her hand to Martha. "Donna Noble. The Doctor talks about you all the time; it's good to finally have a face for the name."

Martha took the hand and they shook. "Martha Jones."

"Not for long, I see," Donna commented, holding up Martha's left hand. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Lucky guy?" the Doctor asked, coming over with Harry.

"She's engaged," Harry said, casually leaning against the Doctor like he'd been leaning against the wall.

"To Tom Milligan," Martha replied, glancing up at the Doctor. "Works in paediatrics. He's off in Africa right now." She glanced back at Donna. "And, yes, I know. I've got a Doctor who disappears off to distant places. Tell me about it."

"He's an okay bloke," Harry commented, snickering when Martha turned to glare at him. "Well, okay. Real nice, then. Good catch." When Martha continued to glare, he asked, "What d'you want me to say, then?"

Martha looked like she might respond, but the radio at her belt crackled and said, _"Doctor Jones, report to base please. Over."_

"Almost forgot," Martha said, then picked up the radio. "This is Doctor Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat, this is a go."

They all stepped forward out of the alley, Harry moving forward to stand with Martha, and watched as the troops rushed in and set up base outside the factory. Martha continued leading the main troops while Harry waved to his group and motioned for them to stick with the base for the moment. Hermione, who he'd put in charge, looked nervous, but nodded and hurried the tiny group of two magicals towards the base.

Martha eventually finished directing the troops and walked back over to Harry, the Doctor and Donna, the latter of which looked a little out of their depth. (Well, Donna looked out of her depth. The Doctor just looked mildly disapproving.) "We're setting up a field base on site," Martha told the Doctor. "They're dying to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same," the Doctor muttered as they all walked towards the truck that housed the base. When he passed her, the Doctor smiled at Hermione, who managed a smile back, then motioned Harry over.

"Go on," Harry told Martha, then stepped over to his group. "What's up?"

"You didn't tell me the Doctor was coming," Hermione hissed, watching the tan trench coat disappear into the truck.

"Mmm... Wanted to surprise you," Harry replied.

"Sure it wasn't a surprise to you, sir?" Aria Wells asked, smiling. She was a mistress of alien tech and had managed to get a fair portion of the Department's various machines working without any help from anyone else on staff.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Nope. Knew about it coming in. Martha – Doctor Jones to the rest of you – told me about it when she asked me along."

"Rumour has it you've travelled with the Doctor," Robert Crow, commented. He was a muggleborn, like Hermione, and had gotten certified in medical assistance, both muggle and magical. He also took great joy in finding ways to disrupt alien tech with magic, which made him invaluable to the Department.

"Hmm..." Harry shrugged. "Love those rumours. You know, if I believed even half of them, I'd practically be a god."

"That's a rather terrifying thought," Aria commented.

"Yes, he travelled with the Doctor," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Harry."

Harry chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "It's been about two years, all told, that I've travelled with him," Harry admitted. "Couple months here, couple there. Course, it's only been about two months of my missing for you lot, but that's 'cause this is the Doctor we're talking about and he can usually manage to get you back whenever."

"Except the day of your wedding," Hermione added.

"Could have been worse," Harry commented, wagging his eyebrows, "Rose missed an entire year. Three days, to her, but an entire year for those of us on Earth. Her mum was frantic."

"Occupational hazard," Robert offered.

"Just a bit of one," Harry agreed. "Well, I'm in to save the colonel from... Well, either the Doctor or Donna. Haven't decided which, yet."

"Good luck, sir," Robert called as Harry hurried up into the truck.

Harry got in just in time to hear Donna say, "Donna. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. And I'll have that salute."

"Wish I could get him to do that for me," Harry said teasingly as he walked over to where the Doctor was standing. The colonel gave him a hard look and Harry grinned back – he'd learned regulation from the Doctor, which was to say, not at all. "Good show, Donna."

"Major Potter," the Colonel said, glaring a bit.

Harry was saved from the impending dressing down by the Doctor asking what was going on with the factory. He got the list of their suspicions and the group entered the factory, Harry waving for his team to follow them. Colonel Mace looked a bit disapproving, but Harry's group were special ops, and they might very well be needed. It was why Mace had allowed their involvement.

They brought the Doctor to a working model of the ATMOS and Martha commented that they'd found nothing wrong with it, so they'd brought in the Doctor as an expert to look it over.

The Doctor studied the ATMOS a bit and sonic'd it some. He also insulted Colonel Mace a bit by telling him to back off because he was wearing a gun. Harry, who was looking over another ATMOS with his group – they hadn't had the chance to study them yet, and Harry figured it was as good a time as any – snickered a bit and waved at Mace, who frowned at him.

"Stop antagonising him," Martha admonished Harry between admonishing the Doctor.

Harry snickered some more and walked over to them, leaving his team to play on their own a bit. "I can't help it," he told Martha. "And it's not 'cause he's got a gun," he added, looking at the Doctor, who smiled a bit. "He just reminds me of some aurors and politicians I've met over the years. Made a bit of fun of them, too."

"Did he ever," Hermione added.

Donna walked back in and gleefully told them all about finding an empty file which should have contained info on sick leave and the such. Mace had Martha set up a medical examining room and Donna went with her. Mace and the Doctor wandered off and Harry checked up on his team.

"Harry, we'll never get anything done with you hovering," Hermione commented. "Go follow the Doctor and irritate him and Colonel Mace."

"Cheers," Harry agreed, grinning. Just before he stepped fully out of the room, he looked back at the group, serious. "If something goes down, I want all of you apparating back to the field base right away. I don't care if a muggle sees you. You aren't soldiers and I won't have you in the middle of a minor battle. Am I understood?"

"Sir!" all three called, saluting.

"Now get out of here," Hermione added, then turned back to her work.

Harry chuckled to himself and hurried after the Doctor and Mace. He found them discussing going to Rattigan Academy and how the Doctor didn't want to have anyone going with him who was carrying a gun. He caught up with them properly as they were reaching the jeeps. "If you want, Doctor, I can take you," he suggested.

"Major Potter, are you cleared for driving a vehicle?" Colonel Mace demanded.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at him. "The Department does have us all certified, sir. I don't drive often, but I'm certainly capable of it."

The Doctor grinned. "Just like old times, then."

Harry smiled back. "Yes, except I'm driving instead of you. Should be a less sick-up inducing trip."

"Oiy!"

Mace sighed. "Very well, Potter. If the Doctor tells you to do something, you do it. Understood?"

Harry nodded and, with a straight face, said, "If the Doctor tells me to do something, be completely contrary. Yes, sir."

" _Just_ like old times," the Doctor said again while Mace just sighed. "Donna!" the Doctor called, catching sight of the woman. They spoke for a moment and the Doctor completely misunderstood what she was trying to say, leaving Harry in stitches. Finally, they all climbed into the jeep and headed off.

"You can actually drive?" Donna asked in surprise as they left the factory behind them.

Harry sighed. "Muggle-raised? Live in a muggle neighbourhood?"

"But you don't own a car," Donna replied.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Work for a super-secret, alien-hunting department that collaborates with muggles regularly?"

"Is it really super-secret?" the Doctor asked.

"Most of the Ministry doesn't even know it exists," Harry replied. "They just think the Department of Mysteries is all the same thing. So far as most people know, we don't care about aliens. Muggle problem."

The Doctor grinned. "I love humans."

Donna elbowed him.

-0-

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

The Doctor tapped the ATMOS that was giving them directions on the dash. "I don't suppose you'd know why this jeep has one of these?"

"Have to. Standard for government vehicles. Department van has one too. Some of the magical-raised really like them, since it can help you drive the car. I hate it." Harry glanced at the ATMOS with a look of disgust. "Ginny actually suggested she might be willing to drive, with one of these. Been vetoing the idea for months."

The Doctor shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder about that woman."

"You and me both." Harry eased them around a turn, then said, "She's threatening to divorce me."

The Doctor glanced at him. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing." Harry shrugged. "On one hand, I've been talking about getting a divorce for years. On the other, she'll get the kids."

"What, you won't even be able to visit them?"

Harry snorted. "I'll be able to visit them fine, but they can't live with me." He glanced at the Doctor. "I practically live at work these days, ever since I resigned from the aurors. Got promoted to major just last week and that's been more work already. Never mind my little trips with you." He sighed. "James is four now, Doctor. He barely even recognises me. I'm just the strange man who's home sometimes and kisses him good-bye every other morning."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered.

"Stop that!" Harry frowned at him. "I picked this life, not you, so stop blaming yourself. Honestly, if I didn't love my job so much, I could just quit. Potter fortune's more than big enough to see me to my old age, and probably see the kids through until they've all got jobs. But I like working with UNIT. Like being useful." He smiled. "I like getting out of the house. Having a reason to run into you."

The Doctor smiled at that. "I suppose. Still don't like the idea of you losing your kids."

Harry shook his head. "I'm not losing them, they're just moving a bit further away than down the hall. I'll just have to make time for them, now, if I want to see them. It'll probably do me some good. I'll actually have to visit, rather than just take it for granted that they'll always be there."

"I suppose," the Doctor repeated. When Harry glanced at him, he still didn't look pleased with the way things had turned out, but he didn't look quite like he was beating himself up any more, either.

-0-

At Rattigan Academy, Harry stood back a bit and let the Doctor have fun. Harry figured that he must have been doing a pretty passable imitation of a normal UNIT soldier – sans uniform, any identifying features on his clothing and a gun, of course – since none of the kids gave him a second thought. It gave Harry a chance to look around, which he did. He saw the things the Doctor commented on, but he also noticed the kids, many of whom didn't really look like they were enjoying their time at the Academy. They looked more like they needed to like the Academy, or something horrible would happen to them.

Harry wondered what Rattigan did to those who decided they didn't like him.

In Rattigan's office – which looked more like a playroom to Harry, but what did he know? – the Doctor found a transporter, which he used, then came back down on. As soon as he got back, he jumped out of the way, leaving room for a strange armoured creature he called a Sontaran to come through. After which, the Doctor happily broke the transporter with his sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor cheerfully talked all about the Sontarans, eventually commenting on their one weakness and using a ball he'd picked up to knock the Sontaran to his knees. The he grabbed Harry's arm and they both ran for it.

After they'd gotten away from the Academy, the Doctor tried calling the base on the radio, but it wouldn't connect.

"The Sontarans?" Harry inquired.

The Doctor nodded. "And if they're blocking that, it means they can isolate the ATMOS."

" _Turn left,_ " the ATMOS said.

"Try going right."

Harry tried and shook his head. "Nope." He reached over to try over-riding the auto-drive, which he sometimes had to do with the Department van, but it beeped negatively at him.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and tried to use it on the ATMOS, but it had been deadlocked. Now, they could see the river ahead of them.

Harry grabbed the Doctor's hand and apparated them out of the car. They both landed on their bums, since they'd been sitting when Harry had apparated them, but they were both still alive when the jeep went off the end into the river.

"Oh, I'm going to have so much fun rubbing their dependence on ATMOS in those purebloods' faces," Harry muttered, shaking his head.

The Doctor sighed and pulled Harry into a hug. "What would I do without you?" he asked, shaking his head after the jeep.

Harry snorted. "You'd have thought of something. Now, come on. Let's go get Donna." Harry stood and reached down to help the Doctor up.

"Are we walking?" the Doctor asked, sounding pitiful.

Harry snorted. "Nah. I thought I'd just apparate us. Saves time and doesn't involve ATMOS."

The Doctor laughed. "Tell me about it."

Harry apparated them to just down the road, where they'd dropped Donna off. He led the way to Donna's house, which he'd looked up shortly after Donna and the Doctor left, just in case he needed to get in contact with her family – watching the Jones family had taught Harry a thing or two about being one of the few of the Doctor's companions who lived on Earth and who had the authority to go to someone's house and explain things when the Doctor disappeared for too long.

There, the Doctor knocked on the door and managed a smile for Donna when she answered. "This day is gone mad. How're you doing?"

Donna blinked a few times, then glanced around the Doctor at Harry, who waved at her. "Mad?" she asked, looking between them.

"You said you've got ATMOS?" Harry asked.

Donna nodded and led them over to the car. There, the Doctor started using his sonic on the ATMOS box he had with him again while Donna tried Martha's mobile and commented on the Doctor having done all that already.

Donna's grandfather, Wilfred Mott, came out to meet the Doctor and exclaimed over having met him before, when the Doctor disappeared in front of him on Christmas Eve.

"Was that before or after your stunt with the Titanic?" Harry asked, pulling out his mobile to ring Hermione. He wanted to know if they'd found anything.

"Before," the Doctor replied.

"That was you?" Wilfred demanded.

"That wasn't real," Donna insisted.

"Sure it was," Harry said. "I've still got the readings from that giant hunk scaring the hell out of everyone back in my desk. Hermione!" He turned and stepped away from the rest of the group as Donna finally got an answer from Martha. "Have you lot found anything?"

"Not really," Hermione replied, sounding frustrated. "It's still just a hunk of too-advanced technology!"

"Mmm... They were made by a race called the Sontarans. Rattigan is working with them. Don't know why yet, but the Doctor's trying the ATMOS again. Says he knows what he's looking for, now."

"Whoa!" the Doctor called as spikes popped out of the ATMOS. "It's a temporal pocket. Knew there was something else in there."

"I heard him," Hermione said before Harry could ask. "We're on it."

"You're amazing. Ring me if you find anything!"

"Will do."

Harry hung up and came over as Donna's mum came out to see what they were up to. "Hermione and them are looking into it more," he said to the Doctor.

"Mmm..." the Doctor sonic'd it for a bit more, then a billow of smoke shot out. "Get back!" he shouted, shoving them all back a bit. He sonic'd it from a distance until the ATMOS stopped billowing smoke, then stepped forward, Donna's mum complaining about how he'd blown up the car. "That wasn't just smoke," the Doctor commented, ignoring Donna's mum. "That was some sort of gas."

"But if that means they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth," Donna said.

Wilfred got into the car, saying he'd get it off the street, but as soon as he was inside, the car started up on its own and started pouring gas out the exhaust. He couldn't get out and neither the Doctor nor Harry could get in – sonic screwdriver didn't work, and Harry didn't know any spells for breaking into cars.

Donna's mum was the one who came to the rescue, in the end. She brought out an axe from inside the house and smashed the front window of the car.

"Hmm. Axe," Harry muttered as he and Donna hurried to help Wilfred out and the Doctor kept playing with the ATMOS, trying to see if he could stop it.

Harry's mobile rang and he left Wilfred to his family while he answered it. "Potter."

"Harry! All the ATMOS devices are pouring out smoke!" Hermione cried.

Harry glanced around the street, where every car was pouring out the gas. "Yeah, I know. Get away from them. The gas seems to be poisonous. Get into the base and stay there, understand? See if you can't figure out what the gas is."

"Right. Also, did you tell Colonel Mace about what you found out?" Hermione asked, much calmer now that she had something to do.

"Yeah. We told Martha. Why?"

"Then Martha hasn't told him. He was just in here, before the gas started, asking if we'd found anything."

Harry turned to look at the Doctor, who'd given up on the ATMOS and was helping Donna and her mum get Wilfred into the house. "Hermione, I want you to tell the colonel, then. Code Red, Sontarans. Understood?"

"Sure. You don't think Martha is going to?"

"I'm not sure," Harry replied, running a hand through his hair. "It's possible she just hasn't run into him, yet. Maybe she's busy. I don't know. But Mace needs to be told."

"I'm on it. See you back at base?"

"We'll be back soon," Harry promised, then hung up and hurried over to the Doctor. "We need to get back to base."

The Doctor nodded. "Donna! Are you coming?"

"Yeah!" Donna called back. She had a moment with her mother telling her not to, but Wilfred told her to go ahead.

"Just stay indoors," the Doctor told them, motioning for Harry and Donna to walk around to the other side of a bush. Once they were out of sight of the two muggles, the Doctor said, "To the TARDIS, please."

Harry nodded and took both of their hands, then apparated all of them to just outside the TARDIS. "Oh, hell," Harry muttered and banished some of the gas before casting a bubble-head charm on himself. He couldn't see any better with the charm, but at least he could breathe. He waited while the Doctor ushered Donna into the TARDIS, then they both took off towards the base.

At the base, Harry hurried over to his team and checked them over while the Doctor talked about taking the TARDIS up to the alien spaceship.

"Have you phoned Ginny?" Hermione asked Harry.

Harry saw the Doctor grabbing Martha to go with him towards the TARDIS. "I'll do it now," he promised, pulling out his mobile and hurrying to join the Doctor and Martha. "To the TARDIS?" he asked, dialling the number for his house and hoping Ginny would pick up for once.

"Oh yes," the Doctor agreed.

The phone picked up on the other end. "Harry?" Ginny whispered.

"Ginny, I need you to take the kids down to the cellar and block off the door to the main part of the house," Harry ordered. "You'll be safe down there."

"Harry? What's happening out there?" Ginny pleaded.

"Sweetheart, just trust me and do as I say, okay? We'll work it out here, but I need to know you and the kids are safe. Now, cellar. Take the phone with you."

"Okay," Ginny replied and Harry heard Lily whimpering and James laughing a bit, which meant she had the kids and was herding them. "Don't you die on me, Harry Potter!" Ginny added into the phone.

Harry laughed. "Not a chance," he promised, then hung up. The Doctor and Martha had hurried on ahead, so Harry hurried to catch up to them. When he rounded the corner he stopped to stare at the place where the TARDIS had been mere moments before.

The Doctor was wandering around, tasting the air. "Teleport exchange," he said, mostly talking to Martha. "It's the Sontarans. They've got her." He looked a bit disgusted. "But that means I'm stuck on Earth like a normal person. Like a human. What rubbish is that?" He glanced at Harry and Martha. "Sorry, no offence."

Harry shrugged while Martha mostly ignored him.

The Doctor stared at Martha for a long moment and Harry wondered if he'd, perhaps, noticed something wrong with the young woman. Something that might explain why she hadn't told Colonel Mace about the Sontarans.

Martha finally turned to him with a frown. "What?"

"I was just wondering if you've called your family," the Doctor replied.

"What for?"

"About the gas. Tell them to stay indoors," the Doctor replied.

"Of course I will," Martha said with a little laugh, but she didn't seem too concerned about it. "Where's Donna?"

"Oh." The Doctor shrugged and glanced at Harry. "She's gone home. She's not like you. She's not a soldier." The Doctor looked back at Martha for the last bit, then nodded. "Right! So, avanti!" He turned and led them back to the base.

There, he asked about the gas – which they were still working on – then tried to tell off Mace for thinking about a nuclear strike and, finally, called the Sontarans and sat down in an open chair to talk to them. When General Staal, the head of the fleet, showed them the TARDIS, the Doctor cheerfully worked Donna's name into a message and suggested she use the phone in the TARDIS to communicate, then told the Sontarans that he had a remote control for the ship. They ended the transmission pretty fast after that.

Mace set about bringing up NATO defences while Martha considered the gas sample they'd collected again. The Doctor went over to her and Harry walked over to his group, all of whom looked out of place. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"There's not a lot for us to do," Aria replied, waving at the busy room. "Hermione's the only one who knows anything about gas, and she doesn't hold up to Doctor Jones' knowledge. We're not soldiers."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, shaking his head. "I'd send you home, but I don't want to have to call you back again if we suddenly need you."

"What might you need _us_ for?" Robert asked.

The group of soldiers behind them chose that moment to announce that the NATO defences were online and they were priming for launch. The Doctor spun around to yell at Mace and Harry sighed. "Other than stunning Mace so he'll stop doing stupid stuff?"

The other three laughed a little nervously and looked around Harry at the desperate Doctor and the nervous Mace.

The missiles didn't fire and the grid went down. Mace ordered them to get the grid back up and it looked like the Doctor might snap a bit more, but a call came in from one of the groups inside the building that they had Sontarans in the factory. Mace ordered them to fire and the Doctor tried to tell him to get them out of there.

The guns didn't work and the team that had run into the Sontarans was slaughtered.

When the Doctor yelled for Mace to order a retreat again, he listened.

Their forces were severely depleted by the time they got out of the factory and closed it up.

Mace motioned for the Doctor to follow him into the little side meeting room and called, "Potter!"

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry," he told his group, then hurried to join Mace and the Doctor.

Mace turned to Harry. "Do you think you can use magic to bring those Sontarans down?"

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the glass wall. "Can I? Most certainly. Do I have troops for that? No."

"You have those three–"

"They aren't soldiers," Harry reminded him sharply. "They're scientists. They don't do battle."

"Everyone here 'does battle'," Mace insisted.

"Oh? Even Martha? Even the Doctor? Because I can guarantee neither of them will be interested in fighting the Sontarans. I'd like to see you try and make them."

Mace leaned forward over the desk he was sitting behind. "Potter, you are under my command, here–"

"If we're playing the 'who's in charge' game, Colonel, I think you'll find that the Doctor out-ranks you." Harry turned to the Doctor, who was watching the argument like one might watch a tennis match. "Doctor?"

The Doctor sighed. "They're not fighting. In fact, _no one_ is fighting. You can't fight Sontarans!"

Mace looked between the two men. "How were they stopping the bullets?" he demanded.

"You can't fight–"

"Thank you, Doctor. But I need people who can fight them anyway. That means either Potter's little band of stick-wavers need to play a part, or we need a way to shoot our guns. Do you understand me?"

Harry and the Doctor traded looks. "They're using a cordolane signal, which causes the copper to expand. It jams the guns," the Doctor said, almost looking defeated.

Mace nodded and stood. "I'm on it. And, Potter?"

"Sir?" Harry ground out.

"You might as well tell your team to go home." Mace smiled at them, then turned and left the office.

Harry muttered some under his breath, then waved Hermione towards him. When she reached him, he said, "You lot might as well go home, then. Mace seems pretty sure he's got everything in hand."

Hermione frowned at him, clearly worried. "Are you sure? I don't want to leave you, only for you to have to call us back and all."

Harry shook his head. "If it turns out Mace decides he needs you after all, I'll deal with it. Go home. Say hi to Mum and your kids for me, yeah?"

Hermione nodded. "Okay. Do you want me to check on Ginny?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure? I told her to hide in the cellar and seal herself in with the kids, so she should be fine. You can, if you want."

Hermione nodded again and squeezed Harry's shoulder, then hurried back to the other two Department members.

Harry looked back at the Doctor, closing the door. "What's wrong with Martha?" he asked.

The Doctor grinned. "You _noticed_!"

"Of course I did, you git. She never told Mace about the Sontarans. Hermione did that. And she doesn't seem to care about her family like she ought." Harry rolled his eyes.

The Doctor nodded. "She's a clone, made by the Sontarans, with Martha's memories."

"Of course," Harry said, nodding as if the explanation made perfect sense. "And you figured this out, how?"

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, a couple of things. Can I borrow your mobile?"

"I'm beginning to think you only give straight answers when under duress," Harry commented, handing over his phone. "Calling Donna?"

"Let it never be said you're not clever," the Doctor replied, dialling the number of the phone in the TARDIS. He talked Donna through getting around in the Sontaran ship a bit, but hung up when Mace came back in and ran out to meet him. "Think about what you're doing?" he pleaded. "More people are going to be killed!"

Mace tossed him a gas mask, then waved one at Harry, who shook his head. "I have thought about it," he told the Doctor. "And we're getting back into that factory. Now, come on."

"You're not going without me," not-Martha said, hurrying over to join Harry and the Doctor as the Doctor grabbed his coat.

"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor replied.

Harry cast the bubble head charm on himself again before stepping outside. When the Doctor put his gas mask on, Harry snorted. "Who's the more ridiculous-looking, do you think?"

"I refuse to answer that," the Doctor replied as they stopped next to Mace. Then, turning to the colonel, he asked, "Are you my mummy?"

Harry, who had heard about that adventure from Jack, shook his head while Mace demanded that the Doctor be serious.

Mace called down the _Valiant_ to help clear away the gas, then had the airship use a weapon adapted from Torchwood's facilities to blow a hole through the factory. That started the strike and soldiers on the ground used bazookas to take out the doors. The soldiers started cutting a path into the building for Mace, the Doctor, Martha and Harry, all of whom hurried in.

Eventually, the Doctor split off from the rest of the soldiers and Harry and Martha followed. Down the empty corridor, they came across a room with another teleport and the real Martha, lying prone on metal bed. The Doctor ran forward saying, "Oh, Martha. I am so sorry."

Not-Martha reached under her coat like one might when pulling out a concealed weapon and Harry pressed his wand up under her chin. "I wouldn't, if I were you," he commented with a smile. "You know exactly what I can do with this."

Not-Martha's hand moved away from the gun and held her hands up in a surrender position. Harry took the chance to pull out her gun himself and toss it away from them. She eyed him in disgust, then looked at the Doctor, who turned to look at them. "I've been stopping the nuclear launch," she said, as if she expected it to bother them.

"Doing exactly what I've wanted," the Doctor agreed. "I needed you to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. Not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent."

"When did you know?" not-Martha asked, looking between both of them.

"Right from the start," the Doctor replied. "Hermione told Harry you'd never told Mace about the Sontarans, and I could tell from looking at you. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles in the left temple and, frankly, you smell."

"Time Lords," Harry muttered, shaking his head.

The Doctor smiled just the slightest bit and stood over Martha's head. "The Sontarans have been protecting her," he commented, half to Harry, half to not-Martha, "to help feed the clone with Martha's memories. Martha Jones has been keeping you alive." Then he tugged the tech off of Martha's head, causing her to wake up and not-Martha to clutch at her chest, unable to properly breathe.

The Doctor helped Martha for a moment, but Harry's phone rang in the Doctor's pocket and he hurried to answer it, leaving Martha to Harry. "Good to see you again," Harry commented, helping Martha up. She hugged him briefly, then turned to stare at her clone in disbelief.

After the Doctor had given his latest instructions to Donna, he donated his coat to Martha, then directed Harry to help him fix the teleport a bit. Harry was set to sonicing a batch of wires while the Doctor went after the control box and Martha got not-Martha to tell them about the gas, which turned out to be something the Sontarans had created so they could raise their clones.

The Doctor got Donna down to the planet, then called the TARDIS back down, too. They all got into the teleport pod and the Doctor sent them to Rattigan Academy, where they found a shaking Luke Rattigan with a gun. "Don't tell anyone what I did!" he cried.

The Doctor just walked right up to him, grabbed the gun and tossed it aside, then continued on to the science labs. The girls and Harry followed him, Donna commenting on the coat Martha was wearing.

In the lab, the Doctor fixed up some of the stuff Rattigan had, talking a mile a minute about why the Sontarans hadn't wanted missiles being fired on Earth. As soon as he was done, he grabbed his creation and hurried outside, everyone following.

There, the Doctor shot off his toy, igniting the atmosphere and clearing up all the gas all over the world. When the fires cleared, only blue sky was left and the four humans laughed, Rattigan commenting on how the Doctor was a genius.

"Now we're in trouble," the Doctor said and, grabbing his toy, ran back inside.

They caught up with him in Rattigan's office/playroom. There, the Doctor told his three companions thank you and told Rattigan to do something clever with his life.

"You're saying good-bye," Donna realised.

"Sontarans are never defeated," the Doctor replied. "They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know. I've recalibrated this for Sontarans air. So..."

"You're gonna ignite them," Martha said.

"You'll kill yourself," Donna whispered.

"Just, send that thing up," Martha suggested, "on its own. I don't know. Put it on a delay."

"I can't," the Doctor said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Donna asked.

"I've gotta give them a choice."

"Even when you already know their answer?" Harry demanded. "They're never defeated. They won't refuse, Doctor. You _know_ that."

"I've got to give them a choice," he repeated. And then he smiled and whispered something Harry had heard him say before, in the Doctor's bedroom. It was something the TARDIS would never translate, but Harry had always taken it to mean, 'I love you'.

And then the Doctor was gone.

Harry turned away from the pod and apparated back to the TARDIS. There, he rested back against her and stared up at the clear sky. "Damn you," he whispered. " _Damn_ you." He closed his eyes.

Harry wasn't certain how long he stood there, trying not to feel, before his mobile rang. He pulled it out and stared at the name – Martha – for a long moment, not sure if he wanted to answer. Not quite sure that he _could_.

He finally flipped the phone open and answered it. "Potter," he said.

"Here," Martha said, and the phone was handed over.

There was silence, for a moment, then, "I'm sorry."

Harry swallowed at the Doctor's voice and closed his eyes. "Don't tell me they ran away?" he said, trying for joking and failing miserably.

"No. Luke Rattigan used the teleport to switch us," the Doctor admitted.

Harry nodded. "I should go tell Colonel Mace that the Sontarans are gone, then."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered again.

Harry laughed a painful sort of laugh. "If it had been me, I'd have done the same thing," he replied.

The Doctor sounded like he might apologise again, so Harry ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He stood there for another moment, breathing and reminding himself that the Doctor was still alive, the git. The stupid, self-less _git_.

He pushed off from the TARDIS when he felt more in control and wiped at his face, erasing the evidence of his weakness. Then he turned and walked back towards the base. He needed to let Mace know about the Sontarans.


	5. Chapter 5

They all headed home to check on their families. Agreed to meet back up near Donna's place, which was close enough to Martha's parents' house that the Doctor just parked the TARDIS there.

Harry was back first, of course. Even though he'd had further to go, he could apparate there. After he'd checked up on Ginny and the kids, he'd made his excuses, then returned to the TARDIS.

Neither Harry nor the Doctor were really sure what to say. Harry was furious that the Doctor had almost gotten himself killed, even though he knew offering the Sontarans the choice wouldn't have worked. On the other hand, if it had been Harry, he probably would have done the same thing, and he wasn't willing to make a hypocrite out of himself just because the Doctor did what he always did.

For the Doctor, it was almost worse. He had known, going up there, that the Sontarans would have never backed off just because he threatened to blow up their ship. He also knew that there really wasn't anything he could say to Harry to make it better, partially because he knew Harry would have done the same and understood, but also because he'd seen Harry's face when he'd hit the button to be teleported up. He'd seen how horribly he'd hurt the wizard, and he couldn't find the words he needed to make that hurt better.

Harry was the one who finally broke the silence, asking, "What is that language?"

The Doctor looked up at him, over the controls he'd been staring through. "Language?"

Harry shrugged, refusing to look at the Doctor. "The one you spoke to me in, before you..." He swallowed and shook his head. "You speak in it, sometimes. The TARDIS won't translate it, or I'd never have noticed."

The Doctor looked up at the central column in a mix of fondness and irritation. "No," he said, "she wouldn't. It's Gallifreyan, and that language, I'm afraid, doesn't translate well into most languages, including English. Some newer TARDISes translated it, to some extent. She's a bit too old for that."

Harry nodded.

They were silent for a while longer, both looking anywhere but at the other.

The silence was broken, this time, by Martha entering the TARDIS. She looked between the two and sighed. "Men," she said and the TARDIS pulsed in agreement. Both Harry and Martha looked at the central column oddly while the Doctor pulled out his rubber mallet and hit her console with a fond smile.

"It's a wonder she still lets you near her controls," Harry commented drily.

"She doesn't mind," the Doctor replied, grinning. "Hello, Martha."

Martha shook her head. "Donna isn't back, yet?"

"I think her mum is down at the shops," Harry offered. "She'll probably wait until she gets back."

Martha nodded and considered them for a moment, then stepped past the console and headed towards the hallway to the rooms. "I think I left something back here last time. I'm gonna go check."

"Don't get lost back there!" the Doctor called.

"I'll try not to!" Martha called back.

The Doctor sighed and glanced at Harry. "I'm sor–"

"If you apologise _one more time_ –"

"Shut up and listen for a moment!" the Doctor snapped and Harry looked away, frowning. The Doctor sighed again. "I'm sorry for going up there, knowing it meant I would die. I'm sorry I didn't bother trying something else. And..." He swallowed. "And I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't... I didn't want to hurt any of you. Certainly not over something as stupid as giving Sontarans one last chance."

"It wasn't stupid," Harry replied, not looking away from his feet. "If you hadn't given them that chance, you would have been as bad as Torchwood. As bad as UNIT. If you hadn't given them that chance – that stupid, pointless chance we all knew they would never accept – if you hadn't _tried_ , you wouldn't have been you." He glanced up, then, and their eyes locked. "You wouldn't have been that stupid, genius, self-sacrificing alien that I fell in love with."

The Doctor laughed. "I'm a stupid genius?" he asked, walking around the console.

"Yes!" Harry shook his head, laughter bubbling up from his throat. "You git!"

The Doctor pulled him into a hug and rested his chin on the top of Harry's head. He whispered that phrase in Gallifreyan that the TARDIS wouldn't translate, then said, "I love you."

Harry breathed in the man's coat and smiled. "Yeah." He pulled back just enough to glare up at the Doctor. "I swear to Merlin, if you do something like that again, I'll come up after you and kill you myself. Clear?"

The Doctor snorted. "What would that accomplish?"

"It would make me feel better!"

The Doctor snorted again.

They heard loud steps down the hallway and pulled apart, the Doctor walking back over to the control console. When Martha entered the room again, she smiled at both of them and held up a small binder. "Found it!"

"Brilliant," the Doctor replied. "You know, with the amount of rubbish you lot leave around, I'm beginning to think you'll be popping in and out all the time."

"No denials from me," Harry said, grinning. "You're my only freedom from Ginny!"

"That's horrible, Harry," Martha said, shaking her head.

Harry shook his head. "Wait until you get married, Doctor Jones. See how long you last before you want to hitch a ride in the TARDIS every few months."

Martha snorted. "If she drives you mad that much, why don't you just divorce her?"

"Don't think I haven't considered it," Harry replied. "Been talking about it for _years_."

"Sure, _talking_ about it," Martha said. "But are you ever actually going to _do_ it?"

"Sounds like Ginny's not giving him a choice, honestly," the Doctor offered, grinning at the glare Harry sent his way. "Harry was telling me earlier that _she_ has been talking about divorcing _him_."

Martha laughed. "When did this happen?"

Harry grimaced. "Honestly? Last week. About the time I got promoted. She's gotten tired of me paying more attention to work than to her and the kids. Not that I blame her, I'm just worried about what sort of huge deal the _Prophet_ will make of this, at this point. I mean, no matter who starts the divorce, it's going to be in the _Prophet_. And, knowing them, Ginny's going to be the bad guy. I may not like her as a wife, but I can't watch them rip into her like that." He nodded to the Doctor. "It's part of what's been keeping us together for so long."

"You mean there's more to it than the potential political backlash?" the Doctor asked, looking intrigued.

Harry sighed. "Well, there was. I was a bit afraid that the Weasleys wouldn't forgive me, but Hermione told me when Ginny first announced her thoughts about the divorce that she and Ron, at least, had just been waiting to see how long it took us. I talked to Ron a bit, and he said he occasionally gets owls from his brothers with jokes about our impending divorce, has been for years. Seems everyone in the family had accepted that Ginny and I would separate eventually. Well, everyone except Ginny and myself. Even Mum and Dad seem to have come to terms with it."

"That's sort of sad," Martha commented.

"Tell me about it."

The TARDIS door opened and Donna walked in, wiping at her eyes. "How were they?" Martha asked.

"Oh, same old," Donna said, smiling a bit. "They're fine." She glanced between Harry, who was perched on one of the railings, and Martha, who was standing next to the console and asked, "Sure you two don't want to come with us? It's not like we're short on space."

Harry and Martha both gave their excuses and, waving, made for the doors. Before either of them got there, however, the doors slammed shut and the central pillar started to move.

"What?" the Doctor said, looking confused.

"Doctor, don't you dare!" Martha shouted, almost falling over.

"I didn't touch anything! We're in flight!" The Doctor pulled over the view screen.

"Where are we going?" Donna asked.

"I dunno."

"Doctor, take me back," Martha insisted. "Take me back _right now_."

"I can't! The controls are locked." The console sparked and the Doctor jumped back a bit, only to have to catch himself on the console again when the TARDIS jerked. "I don't know where we're going," he commented, "but my old hand is very excited about it."

"I thought that was just some freaky alien thing! Are you telling me it's yours?" Donna demanded.

"Well..."

"It got cut off," Martha supplied. "He grew a new one."

"You are completely impossible," Donna told the Doctor.

"It's not impossible," the Doctor said. "Just a bit unlikely."

The console exploded again and they all got tossed to the ground as the TARDIS finally stopped.

They took a moment to stare at each other, then the Doctor was off and through the door to see where they'd landed. The three humans all pulled themselves to their feet and slowly came out after them, Martha commenting, "I love this part."

"I thought you wanted to go home," Donna said, looking at her suspiciously.

"We're here now," Harry said and Martha nodded. "And as long as he doesn't keep us for more than an hour, we shouldn't have to write up a report about it."

"You have to write up reports on your travels with him?" Donna asked.

Harry grimaced. "Oh, yes," he said in a much less excited imitation of the Doctor.

"So, last time, when you were gone for an entire year..." Martha said.

"Took me three weeks," Harry replied. "And I couldn't just fudge it and take the adventures that would have amounted to about a month – that was how long I was gone for on Earth – and just write those down. They know how the Doctor travels; know that travelling with him never takes the amount of time that you're gone." 

"Sorry about that," Martha offered and Harry shrugged.

They were interrupted by a group of what looked to be humans with guns. After showing they were unarmed, the men dragged the Doctor over to a machine and shoved his hand inside. The machine ended up taking a tissue sample from the Doctor and using his DNA to create a young woman who the Doctor reluctantly admitted was his daughter, of a sort.

Before the others could have their DNA taken, another group of beings came from the opposite direction and fighting broke out. The Doctor and his three human companions ducked down, Martha and Harry going one way while the Doctor and Donna went another. When Martha was grabbed by one of the aliens – the Hath, the humans called them – Harry pulled out his wand and jumped after them.

When the humans exploded the tunnel, Harry and Martha found themselves on one side with the Hath, while the other two were left on the other side. To make matters worse, when the rocks had fallen, they'd knocked Harry's wand out of his hand. While Martha went to check over the Hath with them, Harry found his wand and moaned. It had been crushed by a boulder and was now in three pieces.

"Always my bloody luck," he muttered to himself, turning to walk over to Martha and the Hath. Before he got far, more Hath ran out and pointed guns at them, so Harry threw his hands up in the air. "Peace!" he shouted.

Martha chose that moment to set the hurt Hath's arm, which set the group holding the guns off again, but the Hath Martha had helped talked them down.

Martha and Harry soon found themselves being prodded along by the group of Hath, who seemed a fair bit more friendly.

"Now what?" Martha hissed to Harry.

Harry shook his head. "My wand is broken," he said quietly. "But the TARDIS is still translating, since we can understand this lot, which means both she and the Doctor are okay. I say keep our heads down until we can meet back up with the Doctor and Donna."

"Good a plan as any," Martha agreed.

-0-

The Hath really seemed to like Martha and, by extension, Harry. The two humans were shown around their base, then shown to the map they had of the tunnels. Martha and Harry were glancing at each other across the map, both wondering if they should try to help the Hath find this 'source' when the map suddenly got bigger.

The Hath all congratulated the two humans on expanding the map and set off to explore the new tunnels, ignoring Harry and Martha's insistence that they hadn't done anything.

Soon, it was only the two humans and the Hath Martha had healed, Peck, left. Both humans silently agreed that they didn't really want to go running about the tunnels for the 'source'. Harry pulled out his sonic screwdriver and turned it on the map curiously while Peck asked Martha why they weren't going.

They were interrupted when Harry's mobile rang. He hummed to himself while he pulled it out. "Potter," he said, considering the map.

"Harry!" the Doctor said from the other end. "You're alive. Is Martha there?"

"Mm-hm," Harry agreed, glancing up towards Martha. "It's the Doctor," he explained to the other human and she looked relieved. Harry smiled. "Is Donna alright, then?"

"Yes, she's fine." Donna said something that Harry couldn't quite hear and the Doctor said, "And... Jenny. The woman who came out of that machine. The... My... My daughter." Harry could almost hear the grimace in his voice. "Right! Where are you two?"

"Hath camp," Harry reported. "Starting up for war, they are. Did you happen to expand a map, by any chance?"

"Oh. Oh, no..."

"I'll take that as a yes." Harry snorted and twiddled his sonic screwdriver.

"It's going to be a blood bath." The Doctor sighed. "Are you two safe there?"

"Mmmm.... Mostly," Harry agreed.

"Good. _Stay there_."

"Oiy! Who're you, to be ordering us around?! We're not just going to sit about twiddling our thumbs, you git!"

"You're safe. Stay there."

"I'm not going–"

"Harry, I'm not debating this with you," the Doctor replied firmly, then hung up.

Harry stared down at his phone in disgust. "Bloody wanker." He shoved the phone back into his pocket and turned back to the map.

"What did he say?" Martha asked.

"To stay here like good little children," Harry replied grumpily.

"He actually thinks we're going to do that?" Martha said, disbelieving. "He's gone a bit mad, hasn't he?"

"Completely," Harry agreed, still fiddling with the map and his sonic screwdriver. "Ah-hah!" he shouted as the map went 3-D. He shoved his sonic screwdriver back into his jeans pocket, intent on not losing another of his toys, thanks, then looked curiously at the 'source', which appeared to be a very large chamber.

Martha considered the map, then pointed at the 'source' chamber. "It looks like it goes above ground," she said.

Harry nodded and looked at Peck who was still with them. "What's on the surface? Why isn't anyone going that way? It would be faster."

Peck patiently brought up readings from the surface. Martha looked them over and decided t wouldn't be too bad and said they should try it. They had to get to the 'source' before the Hath and the humans. The last thing they needed was the likely blood-bath and maybe, by getting there first, the two of them could do something to stop it. (Or at least delay it until the Doctor showed up with a better plan.)

They got their Hath friend to lead them to a way up to the surface, but he choked there, unable to make himself go any farther.

"Suit yourself," Martha said to his excuses. "But if you don't go up there, you'll forever live in the dark, never feeling the wind on your face. It's your choice." She turned back up the stairs and shoved at the covering. "Harry?"

Harry nodded to Peck and hurried up to help Martha open it. Then he helped push her up, letting her pull him up after once she was clear. "This is lovely," the wizard commented a tad sarcastically of the barren surface as Peck joined them.

"I knew you couldn't resist," Martha said, grinning.

Harry rolled his eyes when Peck replied to her with some not-so-polite words. "Children," he said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and his laser pen. He clicked the pen on to the torch and handed it over to Martha, who took it with a grin, then used the screwdriver to search out the 'source' chamber and started off, calling, 'This way!"

Martha shook her head at Peck and they both set out after him.

-0-

They managed to get to the building without too much trouble. All three were cold when they finally made it and they had a difficult time getting the door open because of cold hands, but they managed and all hurried inside, shivering.

"What I wouldn't give for a nice cup of tea," Harry muttered, taking his pen back from Martha and shoving it into a pocket. "I can live without my wand, if only I had a cup of tea."

Martha shook her head at him. "Let's find the source, yeah? Maybe it'll be able to magically provide us with tea."

"Pull the other one," Harry retorted.

Martha grinned, then set off into the... Whatever it was. "Where are we?" she wondered.

Harry paused to consider a console. "Ship of some sort," he suggested, pointing to the schematics on the screen.

Martha leaned over to look at it. "The first ship? The one the colonists got here on?"

Harry shrugged. "Perhaps. Makes a certain amount of sense." He sighed and rubbed his arms. "Well, let's keep on. It'll warm us up some. I hope."

Martha grimaced and they started off again, Peck following silently.

It didn't take much longer to find more people, and they happened to be just the people they were looking for.

"Doctor!" Martha shouted, running forward to hug the Doctor, who had just come around another corner.

The Doctor blinked. "Martha?" He pulled back once she'd let go. "How did you two..." He frowned at Harry.

"Because we were really going to sit around, waiting for you," Harry replied dryly.

The Doctor grimaced in agreement and he and Harry hugged while Donna hugged Martha and Jenny and Peck gave each other wary looks.

The reunion was cut short when they heard shouting downstairs. General Cobb had gotten through and their time was nearly up.

"Wait," Martha said, frowning. "Do I smell flowers?"

"Yes," the Doctor said. "Bougainvillea!" He turned in the direction of the smell. "I say we follow our noses."

They all hurried into a garden. There, they found the 'source', which the Doctor said was just a terraforming device, a device to clean up the planet's surface so it was habitable. When the Hath and the humans ran onto the scene, the Doctor explained that to them, then hurled device to the ground, breaking it and letting the gases out.

Everyone put down their guns and looked up to watch the gases spread out.

Everyone but Cobb, who lifted his gun and pointed it at the Doctor. But Jenny got in the way, saving the Doctor's life, and Cobb's men grabbed him while the Doctor gently helped Jenny lay down, looking heartbroken. He spoke to her of all they could one day do together, going out and seeing the stars.

When she finally died, he turned to his three human companions. "Two hearts," he whispered. "She's got two hearts. She's like me."

"There's no sign of it, Doctor," Martha whispered. "I don't think she can regenerate. She's not enough like you."

"No," the Doctor disagreed. "She was too much like me." He gently laid Jenny on the ground, then turned and walked over to Cobb, grabbing the man's gun and holding it against his head. After a long moment, the Doctor removed the gun, saying, "I never would." He stood and said, "When you build this new world, this world of human and Hath, make your foundation a man who never would." Then he tossed the gun and went back over to Jenny.

It took a while – and a great deal of furious whispering about who should do it – before Harry walked over to the Doctor and knelt on the other side of Jenny from him. "Doctor?" he whispered.

The Doctor glanced up at him, something in his eyes reminding Harry of their first meeting and Harry reached over Jenny's body and grabbed the Time Lord's hand. "Harry," he said.

Harry nodded. "Let's get Jenny to somewhere a bit more comfortable, okay? The boy, Cline, thinks they might have a mostly intact table and some blankets for a pillow." He searched the tired eyes for an agreement. "Okay, Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced down at Jenny again, then nodded and slowly got to his knees.

Harry let go of his hand and stepped back so the Doctor could pick up Jenny. He glanced back at where Donna and Martha stood with Cline and Peck and managed a smile. The Doctor would be okay in time.

-0-

They dropped Martha off first. "I'll see you at work tomorrow," Harry promised her. "Write up a report about what happened with the Sontarans."

"My office or yours?" Martha replied.

Harry considered that for a moment. "I'll come to you," he decided.

Martha smiled. "Okay."

He waved her off to where Donna was waiting to say her goodbyes and turned back to the TARDIS, which the Doctor was just walking out of. Harry had already told the Doctor he'd need to drop him off, so they didn't do more than nod as they passed each other. Harry waited for the Doctor and Donna to finish saying their goodbyes, then they all piled back into the TARDIS.

When Harry stepped out of the TARDIS, he found himself back on that same corner the TARDIS always appeared on and the other two stepped out behind him.

Donna grabbed him in a hug and smiled. "I'll see you again," she promised.

Harry grinned. "Oh, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

Donna laughed and turned to head back into the TARDIS, leaving Harry and the Doctor to say their goodbyes.

Harry sighed. "Will you be okay?"

The Doctor nodded. "Always am," he agreed.

Harry nodded. "You know my number," he reminded the Time Lord and got a smile for the effort. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah."

Harry hugged him and if the hug lasted for a moment longer than was proper between two men, there was no one watching who would have said anything.

Harry waved and headed towards his house and family, only stopping to watch the TARDIS fade away.

-0-

Ollivander sighed helplessly and tossed another destroyed wand in the bin. "Mr Potter," he said, "I don't know that another wand can accept you while you remain the master of the Elder Wand."

Harry rubbed at his face. Ollivander had suggested, when Harry first came in for a new wand almost an hour ago that that might be the case, but Harry didn't want to believe it. "I swore I'd never use that wand again," he said. "I don't want to use it."

"I don't think the Elder Wand will be giving you much of a choice," Ollivander replied drily. "It was made to be used, and now that your old wand has been destroyed, there aren't any wands in my shop that are willing to take that wand's place."

"Who knew wands could be territorial?" Harry muttered, shaking his head. "Well," he said, louder, "thanks for your help, Ollivander."

The wandmaker shook his head. "Go take the Elder Wand back, Mr Potter. It's the only wand that won't blow up in your face."

Harry nodded and stepped back out into the bustling alley. He glanced at his watch and groaned. His lunch break would end soon, and he still didn't have a wand. He also hadn't had anything to eat, which was almost worse.

Harry made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron and tossed a knut in the jar over the fireplace before grabbing a pinch of Floo powder and stepping into the fireplace. He called out, "Three Broomsticks!" and found himself whirling through the magical fire. When he fell out of the fireplace on the other end, he took a moment to just sit, a little dizzy.

A hand entered his field of vision. "Up you get, Mr Potter," a friendly voice said, and Harry found himself being helped up by Madam Rosmerta.

Harry smiled at her. "Thanks, Madam Rosmerta. I don't suppose I could get a sandwich to go?"

Madam Rosmerta smiled at him. "Just a sandwich?" she asked.

"Ah..." Harry considered that while he followed her to the bar. "A small thing of chips, too, I suppose. Not too much, though. On a schedule and all."

Madam Rosmerta nodded. "I understand. Two sickles."

Harry handed the money over and smiled in thanks at the sandwich and chips she gave him before hurrying out the door. He practically ran for Hogwarts, trying to eat the food and not choke on it at the same time.

Walking onto the grounds, he felt the wards brush against him in welcome and Harry grinned around a mouthful of chips. His old school always made him feel welcome, no matter his reason for visiting. Only a few years ago he'd been visiting as an auror to deal with a student who had tried to kill a few muggleborns and he'd felt so disgusted with the world before he'd crossed the wards. After that, he was almost happy, and had practically forgotten why he'd come to visit by the time he got to the Headmistress' office. Minerva had been quick to remind him, of course, but that walk of contentment had managed to calm his ire enough that he didn't act too rashly against the student.

Again, he felt content, but a glance at his watch reminded him he was on a schedule and he sped up, seeing Albus Dumbledore's coffin come into sight. He felt bad about stealing from his old mentor, but there was nothing for it, and he knew Dumbledore wouldn't have said anything against Harry's actions, had he been alive and known all the facts.

Harry had just taken the wand out of the coffin, sparking with red fire, when a voice said, "Really, Harry. Grave-robbing?"

Harry spun around and groaned when he saw the grinning face of Neville Longbottom. "It's not grave-robbing, Nev," he complained.

Neville laughed. "I know, I know. It's your wand, technically. What has you taking it back, though? I thought you swore never to use it again."

Harry sighed and scratched the back of his head. "My old wand got... broken," he admitted, cringing. "None of the wands I tried in Ollivander's would accept me. Apparently, this wand is territorial."

Neville snorted. "Only you." He shook his head. "Do you have time for a bite of lunch?"

Harry shook his head. " 'Fraid not. Running a bit late, actually, but I needed to get a new wand."

Neville nodded his understanding. "Can you at least come with me back to the greenhouses? I found something yesterday in the Forbidden Forest. Saves me having to owl it to you."

"Sure." Harry joined Neville and they made for the greenhouses. "Why is it in the greenhouses, though? Is it a plant?"

Neville's cheeks coloured a bit. "No. I was running late for class yesterday and forgot it in the greenhouses after. Probably wouldn't have remembered for a few more days if you hadn't dropped by."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Only you, Nev."

Neville grinned, then led Harry into the second greenhouse and to his desk near the back. There, he pulled something out of a drawer and held it out to Harry. "I wasn't sure if you'd want it, really, but... Well, here." And he dropped the cracked stone into Harry's hand.

Harry blinked down at the Resurrection Stone and sighed. After everything he'd gone through to forget the two Hallows, they ended up in his hands again. "Fate mocks me," he muttered and shoved the stone in a pocket. "Thanks, Nev."

Neville nodded. "I could go lose it for you again," he offered.

Harry grinned at him. "Nah. It'll end up back in my possession again somehow. Might as well just keep it. Seems determined enough, certainly. But, uh, Nev?"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone it's been found, okay?" Harry asked. "I've got enough people chasing me about because of who I am, don't need more of them because of the Hallows."

"And the wand?" Neville asked, nodding at the stick of wood Harry was still holding.

Harry considered the wand for a long moment, then shrugged. "Hope no one notices," he decided, then glanced at his watch and winced. "Ah, bugger. Well, Nev, good seeing you again!"

Neville laughed. "You too, Harry! Come by for lunch one of these days!"

Harry saluted him, then took off towards the gates, strapping the wand into the holster Ron had bought for him a couple of years ago that he always forgot to use. Once he passed the wards, he apparated back to the Ministry and started his way down to the Department, already imagining the chewing out he was about to be faced with for his late lunch.

-0-

Harry was pretty much bored out of his mind. The whole ATMOS adventure had been ten days ago, and the Department and UNIT had finally finished cleaning everything up just yesterday – 'clean-up' including dealing with the Rattigan Academy as well as all the ATMOS factories and their workers – and Harry hadn't really had a proper break yet, so he'd been ordered to take a couple of days off. He'd hoped to surprise Ginny with the news and maybe spend some time figuring out what to do with what was left of their marriage, but she'd already made plans with some of her Hogwarts year-mates.

So Harry was stuck at home, with no wife and no kids. He wasn't allowed to do paperwork – he'd had to leave it all at the office – and he had nothing to do.

"What do normal people do on their days off?" he asked the empty house. Being an auror or working for the Department didn't really leave time for a holiday, and certainly not one that wasn't already pre-planned with Ginny. He wasn't used to having nothing to do.

His mobile rang.

"Potter," he said.

"Harry! Do you happen to have some free time?" Captain Jack Harkness asked from the other end. He sounded like he was running.

Harry grinned and hopped out of his chair. "Have I _ever_! I'm bored out of my mind. What are you lot up to?"

"The other two are on holiday – gotta give them days off sometimes – but I've got something of an invasion of Spartans in the Hub. Don't want to ask the others, since they're off, but I thought you might be free–"

"I'm on my way," Harry said, cutting off Jack's explanation. "Do you have any way to let me in? Or am I going to be running up and down Cardiff Bay, listening for men screaming in Ancient Greek?"

"Oh, yeah. Keep forgetting you've never been to the Hub." Jack cursed and Harry heard some gunshots. "Sorry. Meet you at the water tower in five?" Harry knew where the Hub was, he'd just never been inside.

"Sure," Harry agreed, then hung up. He was just about to apparate when something Jack said made him pause.

"What were Spartans doing near enough to a rip in time and space? I thought Cardiff was the only one of those."

-0-

When Jack came up the lift – Harry had always been able to see it – Harry blinked in surprise. "You look like shit," he said, eyeing the torn clothing where swords and spears had caught. A few spots were red with blood, but Jack seemed to have been quick enough to avoid the worst of it.

Jack grinned at him as the lift came to a stop. "Lovely seeing you, too," he replied. "Want to hop onto the lift with me?"

"What, no hug in greeting?" Harry said teasingly, even as he wandered over and onto the lift.

Jack grabbed him in a hug. "Just don't want to scare the locals," he offered, then clicked a button on his wrist control so the lift would start down again.

Harry snorted and cast a series of spells to clean up the man. "There. How many have you got?"

"About... eight left. I think."

"You think?" Harry replied, shaking his head.

Jack shrugged. "Not sure how many came through to begin with, and a couple of them started out in the cells where the Weevils were and I haven't been able to check and see who killed who."

"Life is never boring for you," Harry said drily, then turned to look around at the Hub as they descended. He happened to see a Spartan running in their direction and stunned him. "Nice place you've got."

Jack winked at him, then hopped off the lift and shot another Spartan coming towards them.

Harry sighed and let Jack help him down. "How did the Doctor put up with that habit of yours?" he asked, motioning to the pistol in Jack's hands.

"Sometimes he yelled, sometimes he ignored me and, once, he let me have at," Jack replied, then shot at another Spartan, who ducked.

Harry chuckled and turned to stand back-to-back with Jack. He saw another Spartan and stunned him. "What do you intend to do with the lot of them once they're down?"

"Can't send them back through," Jack replied, "so I'm not sure. If you kill them, it'll make it easier."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "I'm not killing them, Jack." They'd had that argument once before when Harry happened to be around when a Weevil was spotted; it had rather ruined their lunch date.

Jack sighed and sent off a few more shots. "Yeah, okay. I'll just stick them in a cell, then."

It didn't take much longer for the only two moving things left to be Harry and Jack. They'd had the tactical advantage of weapons that could down an opponent from a distance, while the Spartans were all stuck with swords or spears, which required close combat.

They separated to check the Spartans. Those that weren't dead, Harry bound with rope, those that were dead were either levitated or dragged over to something of a pile near the examination room.

Once they'd cleaned up the main floor, they both grabbed a living Spartan and made their way down to the cells, where they dropped their burdens in empty cells and dealt with the dead Spartans and Weevils down there. The dead ones were levitated back to the main floor by Harry and he would levitate a living one back down with him. The living ones were dragged into cells by Jack.

Half an hour later, they were done cleaning up and were considering what to do do with the pile of dead bodies. There were too many to shove into the morgue, but neither of them were sure how people would react to dead Spartans and Weevils in the Bay.

"We could incinerate them," Harry suggested at last, considering the pile. "Set the lot on fire and clean up the ash and such after."

"It smells," Jack replied, grimacing.

Harry grimaced himself. "I know. But I can't come up with anything else. Not unless you want to get UNIT involved."

Jack mock-shuddered. "Anything but UNIT!"

"Funny," Harry teased. "That's what they say about you."

Jack laughed and shook his head. "Have you got a spell to keep the smell from getting to us? And getting rid of it afterwards? I don't need my team walking in to that smell."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I've got a couple." He cast the bubble-head charm on both of them, then turned his wand on the pile of bodies. " _Incen_ – Ah!" Harry crumpled to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his chest. He was vaguely aware of Jack shooting someone, then kneeling next to him and shouting him name.

Then, it all went black.

-0-

A part of Harry expected to be in the train station at King's Cross again, but all he could see was blackness. He thought he could hear someone screaming in the distance, but the sound was gone almost as soon as he looked towards it.

Harry wished for a torch or a candle or something and immediately felt his laser pen in his hand. He clicked the torch on and looked around, but even with the light, all he could see was darkness. He shivered.

A streak of black crossed the torchlight and Harry spun, trying to spot it again. It crossed his torchlight a few more times before suddenly stopping. Harry found himself staring at something that resembled a dementor and felt terror claw at the back of his throat.

"Who are you?" he asked with all his Gryffindor bravery.

The cloaked head tipped to one side and a skeleton hand reached out to Harry.

Harry shrank back.

The creature laughed a terrible, rasping laugh, then drew its hand back. "I am your servant," it hissed.

"My... servant?" Harry repeated, disbelieving. "I don't _have_ servants."

"And, yet, you are my Master," the creature said.

Harry felt his wand warm in his hand and he wasn't sure how long he'd been holding it. Wasn't even sure he _was_ holding it. When he looked down at it, it pulsed once with light, then fell dark. An answering warmth came from the pocket Harry had shoved the Resurrection Stone in days ago and he pulled it out, shocked. It too pulsed once with light before going dark. Last, his Cloak warmed the expanded pocket of Harry's jacket and, looking in, he saw it, too, pulse with light.

Harry swallowed and looked back up at the creature. "Death," he whispered.

The creature cackled. "Master," it said, sweeping closer.

Harry took another step away from the creature, sick with fear and understanding. He had the three Deathly Hallows, and that made him the Master of Death. Harry wasn't quite sure what that entailed, but he knew he didn't want Death touching him. "Stay back!" he snapped.

Death stopped moving forwards and cackled some more. "The Master is afraid," it rasped. "Afraid of the very thing he commands. This pleases me, Master." It cackled again.

Harry took a deep breath. "If I'm your master, why am I here? What does being your master entail, exactly?"

Death swayed slightly, but didn't come any closer. "You are Dead, Master," it said. "Killed by an arrow to the heart. You may save yourself from that Death, say only that you wish it. You may order me to give back Life when you are Dead and I must grant it. You are my Master."

"Only my own life?" Harry asked, curious. All the people lost in the War... Jenny...

"Only your own Life," Death agreed, then cackled. "The Master of Death may only ever save one Life! Only his own."

"You're not lying, are you?" Harry asked, needing to make sure.

"Death is honest," Death replied. "Death cannot lie. Life can lie, Death cannot."

Harry nodded.

"Will Master return to Life?" Death asked, swaying in and out of the torchlight. "Death is busy."

Harry swallowed. "Yes, Death. Send me back."

Death cackled and shoved its skeleton hands in Harry's direction.

-0-

Harry gasped and jerked up. His chest was on fire, he realised, and moaned.

"Harry," Jack whispered and arms encircled the wizard. "You're alive. You were... You were _dead_."

Harry nodded. "Complicated," he gasped, reaching up to touch the arrow wound over his heart. "Shit. Ow."

Jack let out a shaky laugh and gently set something into Harry's hand. It took the wizard a moment to recognise his wand and took him almost three minutes to recall a healing spell to close the wound. Once the pain was gone, he just breathed, resting against Jack, who seemed perfectly content to act as a back rest for Harry.

Finally, after another six minutes or so, Harry summoned his glasses and looked around at the medical room. Jack had hopped up onto the examining table behind Harry, who was naked from the waist up. The arrow he'd been shot with had been pulled out and was on another table, near his bloody shirt and jacket. He turned to look at Jack and found his friend looking horrible, almost like he might have been crying. "Jack?" he whispered.

Jack managed a smile. "Better?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Bit woozy, still, but alive. Yeah?"

Jack nodded. "About that alive thing, Harry..."

"The Deathly Hallows," Harry said. At Jack's confused expression, he sighed. "Are you _ever_ going to read those books?"

"I prefer getting my intel from the source," Jack replied with something like his old smug grin back on his face.

Harry rolled his eyes. "The Deathly Hallows are three objects that, legend says, when all are owned by one person will give that person mastery over death."

Jack nodded. "And you have these items."

"Yes."

"And it's not really a legend, is it?"

Harry smiled tightly. "Apparently not. I just had a conversation with Death and he – it? – let me live."

"Oh." Jack nodded. "So... What? You're like me now?" He jumped down from the table.

Harry looked after the older man, saddened. "No. At least, I don't think so. Sounds like I can decide each time I die whether I'd really rather live or not."

Jack laughed a bit. "Yeah? Feel free to leave me these legendary items in your will. Maybe I can talk Death into accepting me."

Harry smiled and nodded. "Sure thing."

Jack smiled back, then nodded behind Harry to the pile of dead bodies. "Feeling up to getting rid of those?"

"Yeah. I think two dead people are more than enough for this place, don't you?" Harry replied, casting bubble-head charms on both of them, then setting the pile of bodies on fire.

Jack pulled a couple of bottles of beer out of a freezer in the medical room and handed one to Harry. They both took off their lids, then knocked the bottles together. "To being dead," Jack said.

"To being dead," Harry agreed and sipped the beer through the bubble-head charm.

Jack hopped up onto the table again and they sat, drinking beer and watching the bonfire.

When the fire finally started dying down, Harry put it out, then banished the leftovers. He cast a couple of spells to clean the air, then took the charms off their heads. "Okay?" he asked Jack.

Jack sniffed the air for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks."

Harry nodded and considered his beer. "Hey, Jack?"

"Hm?"

"Why did your medic keep beer in his fridge?"

"I never asked. Didn't really want to know."

Harry chuckled and nodded. As soon as he finished the beer, he hopped down from the table and fixed up his shirt and jacket before pulling them both back on.

"You going to head home?" Jack asked.

Harry considered him. "I was thinking we might go out for a late lunch. My treat."

Jack turned and smiled at him. "I'll get my coat," he decided and walked up to his office to do just that, Harry following.

-0-

"Where have you been?" Ginny demanded when Harry finally got back late that night. He and Jack had enjoyed lunch at a posh restaurant down the road from the Hub, then gone out to a film and chased some Weevils until dinner at another restaurant before saying their goodbyes.

Harry blinked at his wife and gently closed the door behind him. "Out with a friend in Cardiff. You were off with the girls, so I had to find some way to amuse myself."

"Which friend might this have been?" Ginny demanded as Harry pulled off his jacket and trainers.

"Jack," Harry replied, rolling his eyes. "Met him through the Doctor."

"Oh, of course! The _Doctor_!"

Harry sighed and leaned back against the wall, looking at Ginny. "What's wrong with going out with a friend for a couple hours?"

Ginny frowned. "Nothing," she admitted.

"But?"

"But nothing."

"Oh, come on, Ginny." Harry frowned at her. "It's not wrong for me to meet with friends unless I meet them through the Doctor. Is that it?"

"I didn't say that!"

Harry narrowed his eyes warningly.

"Well, okay. I don't like that you're always spending time with other people who have travelled with him. They're all muggles!"

"There's nothing wrong with muggles."

"Well, no," Ginny agreed, not looking the least bit apologetic. "But you're always telling them about us. About our world. And that's against the law, Harry. You _know_ that."

" _I_ don't tell them anything," Harry replied. "I tell them to read a book."

"And who wrote that book?" Ginny demanded.

"J.K. Rowling," Harry said with a straight face. "Incidentally, a muggle."

Ginny glared at him.

Harry sighed. "Yes, technically, telling them who and what I am is against the Statue of Secrecy, but my job–"

"Yes, your job," Ginny spat. "Not the Doctor and his little trips. Only your job allows you to break Secrecy."

"You _do_ know the Doctor works for the same organization."

Ginny snorted. "Travelling with him has nothing to do with your job. It didn't before you started working for the DoM and it doesn't now. That's just travelling."

Harry sighed again. "Ginny, why do you hate him so much? Other than him making me late to the wedding. Which is a bit of a ridiculous grudge, considering it was so long ago."

Ginny frowned and shook her head. "The wedding doesn't matter. I hate him because he took you away from me."

"He..." Harry shook his head, disbelieving. "He didn't 'take me away from you'! I'm right here!"

Ginny huffed. "You may be physically in the same house, but your heart is with _him_. This marriage has never worked, because you're always thinking about _him_."

"That's not–"

"Harry, when you're with your Doctor, how often do you think about _me_?"

Harry swallowed and looked away, because what Ginny was saying was true. He often thought of the Doctor when he wasn't around, but when he was with the Doctor, he only thought of Ginny when he wondered how his kids were. An afterthought. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I loved you," Ginny said quietly. "I loved you even after I first realised that you practically live for him. And I still love you, a part of me, at least. But I can't do this anymore, Harry. I can't sit at home and wonder if you'll be coming home that night or if I won't be seeing you for a month."

Harry nodded, saying nothing.

Ginny sighed and rubbed at her face, then summoned a sheet of parchment from the living room. She handed it to Harry, saying, "All you have to do is sign it."

Harry looked over the divorce papers. As he'd expected, Ginny wanted to keep their children, and he was more than able to dispute it, but he knew they'd be better off with their mother. He summoned a pen, asking, "Where will you live?"

Ginny considered that as Harry signed the form. "The Burrow, I think. It will be a bit cramped..."

Harry shook his head. "Stay here. The kids already know the house and the neighbourhood. James has some friends here. And the wards will keep the press from hounding you too much. Keep the Howlers out." He smiled.

Ginny nodded. "And you?"

Harry shrugged. "I'll get a flat downtown or something. I know I don't have to worry about commute, but it would be nice to be downtown already if something happens. Maybe know about it before I'm called in or some such."

Ginny nodded again. "Okay. When will you be moving out?"

"Ready to see the back of me?" Harry asked teasingly. When Ginny looked like she was about to angrily deny the claim, Harry held up his hands. "No, no. I've got tomorrow off anyway. I'll go look around at open flats and move in either then or over the weekend. Okay?"

Ginny sighed. "Yeah, okay. How are we going to split everything up? The furniture and Kreacher and such?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I'll leave most of it to you. Kreacher too, since he's been so helpful in taking care of the kids. I can buy anything I need to populate the flat, don't see any need to take any of this stuff."

Ginny looked down at her hands, expression pained. "I suppose. Are..." She paused and shifted her hands nervously. "How am I going to pay for the children? I don't have a job. Never finished Hogwarts." She smiled a little grimly and Harry smiled back. He'd been lucky, when the Department of Magical Law Enforcement hired him, considering he'd never taken his NEWTs or finished Hogwarts at all, and with the school being closed and losing her brother, Ginny had never bothered returning for her final year, nor had she bothered trying to find a job, since her parents were willing to support her, and then she'd married Harry.

"You're not stupid, Ginny," Harry said, shaking his head. "You're bloody brilliant, really. Maybe not quite as clever as Hermione, but then, who is?" Ginny laughed at that. "You could easily get a job at the Ministry, if you wanted to. If you had time to." He sighed and rubbed at his face. "I'll have to pay support money for the kids, anyway. I can keep paying for everything else until they're old enough that you feel okay getting a proper job." He leant down so he could meet her eyes, which were once again on her hands. "Okay?"

Ginny smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Harry."

Harry shook his head. "Ginny, you're still one of my best friends and part of my family, marriage or no. I would never leave you in a lurch. _Especially_ not with three kids."

Ginny just nodded again.

Harry smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I'll take the couch."

Ginny laughed. "You hate that couch."

Harry winked, walking past her into the living room. "Now you know why I plan to buy a new one! Good night, Ginny."

"Good night, Harry," she replied, then headed upstairs.

-0-

Harry was learning to like Saturdays. Those were the days he always got off, save the apocalypse, and went to visit his kids. James and Albus had taken to racing each other to the door when he rang at nine each morning. James usually beat Albus and pulled open the door, shouting, "Dad's here!" And Harry would grab whichever boy opened the door up in a hug, then trade him for the other. Ginny would walk out of the kitchen with Lily and invite him in for tea.

Tea always consisted of the two boys vying for their father's attention with stories about their week and Harry would listen to both of them patiently, laughing or sympathising with them in all the right places. He would always end up with Lily in his lap at one point and she would demand a sip of his tea, so Harry would cast a cooling charm on it and let her have her sip, then warm it back up again for himself.

After tea, the boys would drag Harry out into the back yard and demand to play football with him or, if it was raining, take him upstairs to play a board game they pulled out of the cupboard. Harry would always end up staying for lunch, no matter his intentions, and would cook something up for them, despite Kreacher's comments that he was more than capable of cooking for everyone.

After lunch, Harry would pull three gifts from a pocket that he'd picked up earlier in the week and 'forgotten' about until just then. He'd hand the gifts over to the kids, earning a round of squeals, then give all of them a hug and Ginny a quick kiss on the cheek and leave until the next week.

It was one such Saturday that the previously mentioned apocalypse occurred. Harry and the boys were just getting up to go play football outside when the whole world felt like it was tipping over. Harry reached out and grabbed Albus as the young boy almost fell over, while James caught himself on the table and Ginny on the kitchen counter, where she was putting away the cups from tea. Kreacher had Lily and let his back smash into the cabinets to protect the little girl.

As soon as everything stopped moving, Harry called out, "Everyone okay?"

"I'm okay, Dad," Albus whispered, clutching his father's arm, eyes wide in terror.

"Safe," James said, looking around at the too dark room. "Who turned off the lights?"

"Ginny?" Harry called.

"I'm fine," Ginny said back, gently taking Lily from the wincing Kreacher. "Lily, too. But Kreacher's hurt."

"Kreacher will be fine, Master Harry," the little elf said, standing up straight.

"Good."

"Dad?" James called from over by the kitchen window. "Mum?"

"What is it, James?" Ginny asked.

"The sky..." James whispered, turning to look at them in terror. "There's something wrong with the sky."

Harry hurried over to the window, then let out a string of curses and pulled out his mobile. Before he could do more than flip it open, it rang, Hermione's name appearing. She was currently in the Department, he knew, so he answered, "Hermione? What the _hell_ just happened?"

"I'm not sure! The computers can't tell us anything."

"Has anyone looked outside?" Harry demanded, staring up at the planets in the sky.

"No. Should we?"

Harry swallowed. "We're surrounded by planets, and the stars are wrong. We've _moved_ , 'Mione."

"Well, shit," Hermione moaned. "We'll keep working on things here. Try and call the Doctor!"

Harry nodded and hung up. Before he could go through his contacts, Ginny asked, "Harry, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted, feeling Albus grab at his hand. He gently took the boy's hand in his and squeezed. "We'll sort it out, though," he promised, smiling at his family. He got some very scared smiles back, then flicked down to the Doctor's name and hit the call button.

" _We're sorry, this number is out of range._ "

Harry stared at his phone in disbelief. He checked that he'd rung the right number, then tried it again.

" _We're sorry, this number is out of range._ "

"What the he–" He coughed, remembering the three children in the room. "Crap."

"Dad?" Albus whispered.

"What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked, eyes bright with fear.

Harry glanced at her a little warily. "Trying to get in contact with the Doctor," he admitted.

Ginny's lips tightened. "You think he can do something about that?" she demanded, waving a hand out the window. "One man?"

"Well, he might need a bit of help, but, yes. I think he could do something about it." He frowned at his phone and shook it a bit. "Assuming the bleeding phone would connect."

Said phone rang again and he rose an eyebrow at the number, but answered anyway. "Harry Potter."

"Harry, do you have any idea what's going on?" Ianto Jones asked from the other end.

"Absolutely nothing. Why are you ringing me instead of Jack?"

"Jack's on the phone with Martha." Ianto paused. "You _do_ know Martha, right?"

" 'Course I know Martha. I know everyone," Harry replied promptly, then shook his head. "I don't suppose you lot or UNIT know what's going on?"

"No. But, whoever's got us wants us alive. They've erected an atmospheric shell to keep in the air and heat."

"You know, somehow, that doesn't reassure me," Harry offered drily.

Ianto laughed a little nervously.

"Dad?" James whispered.

"We're fine," Harry reassured his kids. They almost looked like they believed him, but when he looked at Ginny, her eyes silently asking if he was telling the truth, he looked away.

Jack said something Harry didn't catch and Ianto demanded, "When was that?"

"Strictly professional," Jack replied.

Harry snorted. "Did Jack just claim to have been professional about something?"

Ianto snorted in reply. "We've got ships coming in, by the way," he reported. "Oh, wait, transmission..."

" _Exterminate. Exterminate._ "

Harry froze, bile in his throat. He remembered the Daleks from Canary Warf. He remembered what the Doctor had told him about them.

" _Exterminate. Exterminate._ "

Harry slowly lowered and closed his mobile, thinking hard. They hadn't gotten into the Ministry last time. Maybe they wouldn't be able to again. "We need to go," he told his family. "Now."

"Harry, what's going on?" Ginny demanded while Harry fished for his emergency portkey in his pockets.

"Monsters," he whispered. "The stuff of nightmares. They're out there, right now. We'll be safe in the Ministry." He pulled out the portkey and held it out. "Everyone, take hold. You too, Kreacher."

"Harry–"

"Ginny! I will argue with you about this when we're in the Ministry. For now, _take hold of the portkey_." He looked at her, eyes burning and she grabbed the portkey, making sure that Lily was also touching it.

The two boys and Kreacher all touched it without being told to again. Harry activated it with a touch of his wand and they all appeared in the atrium of the Ministry.

Harry shoved the portkey back into his pocket. "Stay here," he told his family, then dashed to the security desk. "Hey, John. I need to make a general announcement to the Ministry."

John, the wizard behind the desk, handed Harry a cone, wide-eyed.

Harry nodded to him. "Code red," he said into the cone, voice echoing throughout the building. "This is a code red. Hostiles outside the Ministry. All entrances are to be shut down in fifteen minutes. Please get your families here before then. This is _not_ a drill. I repeat, this is _not_ a drill. All entrances to be closed in fifteen minutes."

Harry's phone rang as he handed back the cone. He flipped it open, walking back over to Ginny and the children. On the other end, the head of the Department shouted, "Potter! What are you doing?!"

"There's a battalion of Daleks headed for Earth, sir. The Ministry building was safe from them last time, but if we don't close down, they may very well get in."

On the other end, there was the sound of rustling parchment, then an intake of breath. "The Daleks?" the head whispered.

"Yes, sir," Harry agreed.

"Thank you, Potter," the head said. "You've done the right thing." Then he hung up.

Harry immediately dialled the Burrow. Harry had gotten a phone installed and made sure Molly could use it after his time on the _Valiant_. It rang twice before Molly picked it up. "Yes?"

"Mum, I need you, Dad, Ron and the kids to floo to the Ministry," Harry said firmly.

"Why? What's going on, Harry?" Molly pleaded.

"I can't really explain right now," Harry admitted, watching as people started flooing or apparating in to the atrium. Ministry workers without an easy way to reach their family were running into the atrium and apparating away. "But I _need_ you to floo here. Please."

"Okay, Harry," Molly agreed. "We're on our way." She hung up.

"They're on their way," Harry assured Ginny, who was watching him with wide eyes. Albus and James stood on either side of their mother, looking terrified.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted from the lifts, and he turned to wave at her as she ran up to them. "We were told there are _Daleks_ out there."

"There are," Harry agreed grimly.

"What are 'Daleks'?" Ginny demanded as they were joined by the rest of the Weasleys.

"Daleks are the worst possible monster in the universe," Harry offered, eyes dark. "They believe all beings other than themselves are unfit to live and should be killed."

"You say that like they're not human," Arthur said with a small laugh.

Harry turned to him. "They're not. They're from the planet Skaro. Created by some bloke named Davros."

" ' _Created_ '?" Ginny whispered.

"Do I want to know how you know all that?" Hermione muttered.

"You're saying their aliens?" Arthur asked.

Harry blinked at all of them, then startled when his phone rang. "Ianto! What's going on down there?"

"Not Ianto," Jack said. "The _Valiant_ is down–"

"Somehow, that doesn't bother me as much as it should."

"–and Martha tried using a prototype transporter. Have you heard from the Doctor?"

"No. Can't get through. Did you say Martha used a _prototype_? As in, not fully working?"

"Yes I did."

Harry cursed under his breath.

"Harry!" Hermione smacked his arm.

Harry offered her a grim smile. "Sorry, 'Mione. Jack, what are you lot doing, then? I assume you haven't heard from Martha?"

"No," Jack said, sounding pained. "Nothing. And I'm afraid we won't ever again."

"Don't talk like that," Harry snapped.

"There's nothing we can do," Jack said, ignoring Harry. "We can't fight the Daleks, and unless we can somehow reach the Doctor..."

Harry closed his eyes. "I know," he whispered.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered, and Harry looked up to find his family staring at him, all looking not a little bit scared. Harry had faced down Voldemort when all seemed lost; what could be so bad about some aliens?

" _Ministry building is now closing off all entrances. I repeat, all entrances to the Ministry building are now closing. All floos and surface lifts have been shut off. Please do not attempt to use these exits until the danger has passed._ "

"Harry?" Jack asked. "Are you safe?"

"The Daleks couldn't get into the Ministry last time," Harry replied, "and neither could the Toclafane–"

"The what?" Hermione asked.

"We're closed in. Is the Hub secure?"

"As secure as it can be. I doubt the Daleks will think to press the button behind the desk in the travel office, so we should be okay. Unless they can sense the door. Ow!"

Harry smiled. "Gwen hit you, didn't she?" Jack grunted an affirmative. "Serves you right."

"I was only..." Jack trailed off and in the silence, Harry could hear a faint voice in the background.

"That sounds like someone I know," Harry murmured.

"Yeah, well, the whole world's crying out. Why does it matter?" Jack replied.

" _Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you!_ " the voice snapped.

"Harriet Jones!" Harry said, smacking his forehead.

"The muggle Prime Minister?" Ron asked, frowning.

"Former," Hermione corrected.

Harry laughed as Harriet introduced herself on the other end of the line. He continued grinning as he heard her trying to get the attention of Sarah Jane Smith. "Jack, ask her how she's doing that," he asked.

"Ms Jones, Harry wants to know how you're contacting us," Jack relayed.

"Harry Potter?" Harriet replied.

"The same. Harry, is there anyone you don't know on this planet?"

"Sure. Some blokes in Japan," Harry retorted.

Jack laughed, then relayed what Harriet told him about the subwave network being made to connect all of those who could help contact the Doctor while the woman herself got them all up on screen.

Harry looked over at Hermione. "Department," he ordered, then hurried past her, leaving her to give their excuses to the family. He was in the lift when he heard reassurance that Martha was alive and well. As soon as he got into the Department, he ran over to the only computer they had working, an older model that made a horrible whining sound, but which had been updated with some alien tech by a group in UNIT when they decided the Department needed a real computer for video conferences.

Almost as soon as Harry turned on the monitor of the computer, the group of screens blinked into existence and Harry grinned at the faces displayed. Other members of the Department crowded in around him, some of them waving at Martha, who smiled back.

Harriet met out introductions to those who needed them, then explained, again, what the subwave network was, since Martha had missed the explanation. Then she explained that through the network, they should combine forces to reach the Doctor.

They all quickly figured out what they could do: Mr Smith, Sarah Jane's computer, would use all the phones in the UK to call and Torchwood would use the rift to boost the signal. Martha and Harry both had the phone number and Harry promised to add the entire Department's mobiles to the equation, since Mr Smith couldn't quite get them.

Decided, they started their work, Harry passing around the Doctor's number to all his co-workers while the others did their thing on their end. As soon as everyone reported being ready, the members of the Department dialled the Doctor's number.

When Harriet was spotted by the Daleks, she offered to transfer control to Torchwood, but Harry called, "Send it here, Harriet. Our systems might not be as high-tech as Torchwood's, but I have a feeling we'll be able to keep the Daleks out better."

Gwen glanced off-screen towards Jack, then nodded. "Transfer it to the Department," she agreed.

"Transferring," Harriet reported.

Harry turned to the group in the doorway of the alien tech room. "I need six and seven on. Now!" The group hurried and turned the required machines on to hold the network. The room filled with the sounds of machinery and, when the control was switched and one of the machines started sparking, the group in the room hurriedly turned on another two machines to help hold the overload.

Harriet's screen went blank.

"Keep trying!" Harry called to the people who turned to look at the screen in horror.

Soon enough, the fuzzy screen cleared to show the Doctor, grinning at all of them. The Department let out a resounding cheer and everyone on the screen tried to tell the Doctor about the Daleks, but he just kept grinning, pointing people out to Donna, who stood next to him.

Suddenly, the whole screen went fuzzy, then cleared to show a being in something like a pushchair. Everyone watched as the Doctor and the being discussed the past, no one quite sure who he was until the Doctor mentioned him having created a new race of Daleks.

" _Davros_ ," Harry whispered.

The Doctor ended the transmission with a manic, "Bye!"

Harry turned to his people. "He'll be coming down to Earth. I want to know where he lands."

"You're going to go to him, aren't you?" Hermione whispered, even as a man ran to grab the TARDIS finder off Harry's desk.

Harry nodded. "I have to, 'Mione. I'm sorry." His phone rang and he answered it. "Potter."

"You've got two saucers hovering over your position," Ianto reported.

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Ianto. Good luck."

"You too, Harry."

Harry hung up. "Make sure the Minister and his staff have evacuated the top floor and that it's been closed off. That's where the Daleks are most likely to break through, if they can at all."

A couple of members nodded and ran to make sure that was happening, even as the man who'd gone to Harry's desk came back with the TARDIS finder. Harry nodded his thanks, then worked the controls until it pin-pointed the TARDIS.

Harry kissed Hermione's cheek. "Be safe," he said, then hurried for the nearest apparation point, TARDIS finder beeping away in his hands.

Behind him, Hermione nodded and hurried to make sure things were under control.

-0-

Harry apparated in just as a Dalek shot the Doctor. He snapped out his wand and hissed, " _Avada Kedavra_."

The Dalek stopped, smoke curling out of its metal casing.

Harry was just starting off towards the Doctor when Jack appeared. He shot the Dalek, earning him a raised eyebrow from Harry, then they both hurried over to where Rose and Donna had knelt next to the Doctor.

"Get him into the TARDIS," Jack ordered, grabbing Rose's gun, which she'd set down. Donna and Rose carefully helped the Doctor to the TARDIS, Jack watching their backs while Harry watched ahead of them, wand drawn.

"What– What do we do?" Donna cried as Jack closed the door behind himself and they rested the Doctor on the metal grating. "There must be some medicine or something!"

"Just step back," Jack ordered, dropping the two guns on the chair. "He's dying, and you know what happens next. Rose! Step back."

"What do you mean?" Donna asked.

Harry touched Rose's shoulders gently. "Come on, Rose."

"But you can't, not now," Rose whispered to the Doctor. "Not after I've travelled all this way."

"Come away, Rose," Harry said again, a little more firmly. As the Doctor's hand started to glow, Rose finally let Harry pull her back to where Jack grabbed them both in a half hug, other hand on Donna's shoulder.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Donna demanded.

"When he's dying, his– his body, it– it repairs itself, it changes," Rose explained, shaking. She looked at the Doctor and pleaded, "But you can't."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said to her. "It's too late. I'm regenerating!" He lit up with light so bright none of them could stand to look at him, but they all tried to, squinting to watch him regenerate.

Suddenly, he clapped his hands together and aimed them at the container holding his hand under the console. The light transferred from him into the container, causing it to glow and bubble.

The Doctor knelt next to the jar and blew on it, making it calm down. Then he looked up at all of them. "You see? Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but as soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to, why would I? Look at me!" He grinned winningly and fixed his tie. "So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle – namely, my hand. My hand, there. My handy spare hand." He looked at Rose. "Remember? Christmas Day? Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand! What do you think?"

Rose stepped forward. "And you're still you?"

"Yup. Still me," the Doctor agreed.

Rose flung herself into his arms for a hug.

Harry felt arms tighten around him and he grinned up at Jack. "I love happy endings," he said with a fake sniffle.

"Oiy! Where's my hug?" Donna demanded.

Harry slipped out of Jack's grip, laughing, and hugged Donna. "I'm glad to see you again, Donna," he said, then motioned to Jack. "I don't know that you've been properly introduced. Donna, this is Captain Jack Harkness, head of Torchwood. Jack, this is Donna Noble. And, Jack, don't start."

Jack grinned a bit too innocently.

The Doctor and Rose joined them, Rose hugging Harry before he could do more than half-turn to her. "I missed you," she whispered.

Harry smiled at her. "I missed you too, Rose." He pulled back and gently touched her cheek. "Look at you. Two years gone and you still look as lovely as ever."

"Lovelier," Jack offered, grinning over Harry's shoulder. Rose laughed and left Harry to hug Jack.

Harry grinned at the Doctor. "Glad you're still the same," he offered.

"Never change, me," the Doctor replied, then pulled Harry into a hug.

Harry pulled away. "I certainly hope not," he agreed, then reached into his pocket for his mobile. "I should let Hermione know we're all okay," he said.

Before he could do more than open his contact list, the phone and the TARDIS went dead.

"They've got us!" the Doctor announced, trying a few buttons. "Some sort of chronon loop!"

" _Lumos_ ," Harry whispered, giving them a bit of light.

Rose shook her head. "Is there anyone who doesn't know you're a wizard?" she asked, looking at the unsurprised faces of Jack and Donna.

"The Daleks," Harry offered as the Doctor managed to get the TARDIS computer working. "Where are they taking us, anyway?"

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets," Jack offered. "They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination."

"You said these planets were like an engine. But what for?" Donna asked, looking at the Doctor.

The Doctor frowned, then turned to Rose. "Rose! You've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this universe - you've seen the future, what was it?"

"It's the darkness," she replied quietly.

"The stars were going out," Donna offered.

"One by one," Rose agreed. "We looked up at the sky and they were just dying. Basically, we've been building this um... this travel machine, this... uh... Dimension Cannon, so I could... well, so I could..."

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"So I could come back!" Rose told him grumpily, making the Doctor grin madly while Jack and Harry snorted, turning away when she glared at them. "Shut up...! Anyway, suddenly, it started to work. And the dimensions started to collapse. Not just in our world – not just in yours – but the whole of reality, even the Void was dead. Something is... destroying everything."

"In that parallel world," Donna said, Rose turning to look at her, "you said something about me."

"The Dimension Cannon could measure timelines, and it's... it's weird, Donna, but they all seem to converge on you," Rose explained.

"But why me? I mean... what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick!"

The screen beeped and the Doctor glanced at it. "The Dalek Crucible. All aboard..."

When they landed, the Daleks outside ordered them to come out and there was a bit of a discussion about the last time Rose and Jack had been with the Doctor and fighting Daleks, but the Doctor replied that, with these Daleks, the TARDIS wasn't safe at all. He asked after their various teleporting objects; Rose's needed another twenty minutes to charge, Jack's was down, and they were too far from Earth for Harry to apparate.

They had to go outside.

The Doctor let them all know that they'd been brilliant, then led the way out. Only Donna was left inside when the door slammed shut, trapping her. The Daleks dumped the TARDIS into the core of the Crucible, where it would be burned up. Nothing the Doctor said would get them to bring it back.

Harry faced Jack and hissed, "Cover me," which the immortal man did. Harry pulled out his TARDIS finder and re-set it to find the TARDIS in the Crucible. Once he'd locked on, he nodded and looked up at Jack. "Wish me luck."

"Be careful," Jack whispered back.

Harry glanced over at where the Doctor was watching the TARDIS hover in the core, slowly breaking apart. He nodded to himself, then apparated.

He fell over as soon as he landed, the TARDIS rocking back and forth and alight with fires everywhere. "DONNA!" he shouted, pulling himself to his feet with the help of a nearby railing. "DONNA!"

He caught sight of her over some flames. She was staring down at a glowing hand that was... growing a body?

He ducked around some more flames and ran around the TARDIS to Donna. There, he grabbed her shoulders. "Donna! We need to get out!"

Donna shook her head. "What's happening?" she whispered.

"The TARDIS is falling apart!" Harry snapped, shaking her a little. "I can apparate us out of here."

"No, what's happen–"

The words died on her lips as the body finished growing and sat up.

"It's you!" Donna exclaimed while Harry hissed, "Doctor?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor said.

Donna blinked, then looked up towards the ceiling. "You're naked," she said.

"Oh yes," the Doctor repeated.

Harry snorted. "Doctor, can you fly us out of this? Because I can apparate us, but..."

The Doctor grinned. "If one of you would get my other suit!" he called, jumping to his feet and starting to hit buttons on the console.

"I'll go," Harry offered as the TARDIS started up. He left Donna, staring in disbelief at the Doctor, and wandered up to the costume room. He found the required blue suit and brought it down, tossing it to the Doctor when he looked like he might be done messing with the controls. "We're safe, then?" he asked, absently putting out a few fires.

"Perfectly," the Doctor agreed.

"And do you..." Harry paused and considered his words. "Does the other you know that we're safe? I know you lot are sort of... Oh, connected or some such."

The Doctor considered that. "Don't know. She's running on quiet right now." He motioned to the central column. "He might not be able to feel her. And even if he can, he won't let the Daleks know, will he?"

"Certainly hope not," Harry agreed, then went to put out a few more fires and help the TARDIS repair the back hallway, leaving the Doctor and Donna to talk about what had happened.

Harry had mostly finished fixing stuff – why were there so many rooms again? – when the TARDIS gave a great shudder. He turned and hurried back into the control room, where the Doctor and Donna were watching something on the monitor. "What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Single-stream Z-Neutrinos compressed into..." the Doctor muttered to himself, then his eyes went wide. "No. No way..."

They watched as the planets lit up, then went back to normal. "What is it? Doctor? What did it do?" Donna asked.

The Doctor just stood there, looking disbelieving.

"Doctor..." Harry touched his arm.

The Doctor kept staring at the screen for a long moment, then suddenly jumped into motion, running off down the hallway.

Harry and Donna turned to look at each other. "Bonkers," Donna said.

Harry nodded. "I don't think he's going to tell us."

"Somehow, I think you're right," Donna agreed.

When the Doctor ran back in with a bunch of parts in his hands, he said, "I've got a plan!"

Harry sighed.

-0-

The Doctor put together a device which, when used against Davros, would destroy all the Daleks. As soon as he was finished, he hit the switch with his foot, causing the TARDIS to materialize in the Crucible. Then he dashed out the door with the weapon, aiming for Davros.

Davros shot him with electricity, causing the weapon to fly out of his hands. Then the Doctor was trapped in some sort of holding cell.

Before Harry could stop her, Donna dashed outside to try where the Doctor had failed, but she, too, was stopped, and then the weapon was destroyed.

The newer Doctor explained why there were two of him while Harry thought long and hard about how he could help. No weapon, and just killing Davros likely wouldn't help. He could probably try and destroy whatever was controlling this horrible weapon of the Daleks', but he didn't know what he could destroy to do it.

Just before the count-down finished, the power died, making all the Daleks and Davros shout about it. Harry poked his head out and saw Donna, playing with the controls and talking quite gleefully about what she'd done.

Davros turned his finger on her to try and shock her again, but Harry shot off an over-powered stinging hex. "Oh, I _really_ wouldn't."

Davros ordered the Daleks to attack, apparently thinking Harry couldn't defend against all of them at once, but Donna quickly fixed it so the Daleks' weapons wouldn't work. Then she deactivated the holding cells and closed down the vault, keeping other Daleks from coming in. Finally, she set the Daleks to spin, getting a laugh out of all the humans. Jack ran past Harry into the TARDIS for the two guns still on the seat while the two Doctors joined Donna at the console.

Harry made his way to Davros, grinning and putting his wand against the alien's skull. "I suppose I should warn you that this kills as well as stinging. Don't try anything funny, Davros."

The two Doctors and Donna went about sending the planets home while the other humans moved Daleks out of the way.

The three at the console took a break to get more energy from somewhere and Rose stepped forward, asking, "Is anyone gonna tell us what's going on?"

Donna gestured to the original Doctor. "He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand, I touched the hand," she motioned to the newer Doctor, "he grew out of that, but that fed back into me. But, it just stayed dormant in my head 'til the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into life. Thank you, Davros!" She smiled at all of them. "Part Human... part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor. I got his mind."

All the other humans stared at the three of them.

"So there's THREE of you?" Sarah Jane demanded.

"Three Doctors?" Rose said.

Jack blinked, looking almost pleased. "I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now," he said. Harry shot a stinging hex at him, raising an eyebrow when Jack gave him a wounded look.

"You're so unique that the timelines were converging on you. Human being with a Time Lord brain," the original Doctor said.

Davros turned to the Dalek sitting in another beam of light with its casing open and demanded why that Dalek hadn't told him about this.

Dalek Caan giggled.

The Doctor commented that it was likely that Dalek Caan knew all along, and Dalek Caan agreed, explaining why he did it.

The Supreme Dalek came down into the vault and shot at the Doctor and hit the console instead. Jack shot him dead and the Doctor complained about how the machine was broken, but there was only one planet left. Incidentally, that planet was Earth, but they could use the TARDIS to take it home. He ran into the TARDIS and Dalek Caan reminded them all about the prophecy and that the Daleks must all be destroyed.

The new Doctor set about making sure the Daleks would explode. When the original Doctor came back out, he didn't look amused and ordered them all back into the TARDIS.

Once they were safe from the exploding Crucible, the Doctor set about using Torchwood and Luke and Mr Smith to attach the Earth to the TARDIS so they could drag it home, with everyone helping to drive.

And once they'd gotten home, they all cheered and there were hugs all around.

-0-

They all said their goodbyes at their first stop. Sarah Jane left first, commenting that she needed to get home to her son. Jack, Martha and Harry walked out together. They were stopped by the Doctor, who needed to fix Jack's teleport again and ask Martha to get rid of the key she'd been about to use to destroy the Daleks' plans. Martha, of course, agreed.

Then all three of them saluted, grinning, and turned to walk on down the path, Jack commenting on how UNIT had maybe gone a bit bad. He'd mostly been looking at Martha, but he also glanced at Harry. Harry gleefully reminded Jack that he was only a part of UNIT as a technicality, to which Jack replied, "All the more reason to leave now, before it gets worse." They'd all laughed.

When Mickey hurried to join them, Harry said, "If you're looking for volunteers, I think Mickey would be willing to sign up."

"Sign up for what?" Mickey asked.

"Torchwood."

Mickey snorted. "I'll think about it," he decided.

-0-

Harry happened to be in Chiswick a week later, looking into a possible alien sighting that had been reported. He'd rolled his eyes when the report had come in, but promised to take it anyway, thinking he might stop by and see Donna's family. Make sure they were okay. He knew Donna hadn't intended to stop in before flying off with the Doctor again.

He was just approaching the house when he saw Donna step out, car keys in her hand. She was chattering away on her mobile and Harry watched on in disbelief as she hopped into the car and drove off.

He hurried up to the front door and knocked. Her grandfather opened the door, looking surprised. It took him a moment, but he eventually stepped out, closing the door behind him. "You're one of the Doctor's friends," he said.

Harry nodded. "What's Donna doing home? I thought she'd been planning to travel for a while yet."

Wilfred sighed and glanced back at the house. "The Doctor said she took on his memories." Harry nodded. "But they were too much for her. He had to completely wipe all memory of him from her mind."

Harry hissed out a breath. "So she's forgotten everything?"

"Yes," Wilfred agreed.

Harry closed his eyes. "I see. I'll make sure the others know."

"He said..." Wilfred looked torn.

"Yes?"

"He said she can't ever remember. Ever."

Harry smiled a little sadly. "He would know," he said. "We'll stay away," he promised. "All of us. We don't want to hurt her."

Wilfred nodded. "Thank you."

Harry nodded. "Sure. And, Wilfred?"

"Yes?"

"If you need help, I'm always here." Harry smiled. "Donna should still have my number, assuming she hasn't deleted it. Well, mine and Martha's. You might want to delete those for her."

Wilfred nodded. "Martha and..." He frowned. "I don't believe I know your name."

Harry chuckled. "Harry Potter," he replied, then apparated back to the Ministry, leaving a surprised Wilfred behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, loves, that's it for Donna. Next chapter will include the specials and, I'm thinking, the Torchwood: Children of Earth season, since it happened at about the same time. My problem is, I'm not sure how much of the specials I'll be using, and since TCoE happens in there, it should help that along nicely. XD  
> So! If you don't know Torchwood, I'm sorry. On the other hand, I've received a couple of requests for the series to play more of a role, and since that particular bit would, in fact, affect Harry, it seems only right that he get involved.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since a reviewer mentioned it, I thought I should let everyone know ahead of time that Ianto _will not_ be dying. I like him too much. (And I don't care how much that fucks with canon, I'm not killing him. *sniffles and cuddles Ianto*)  
>  As for Stephen? Well, that one I'll let you read for yourselves.

Harry was sitting at a tea shop not far from his flat when the group of UNIT trucks flashed by. The police had been going a bit crazy already that night, after a break-in at the International Gallery, and Harry wondered if this didn't have something to do with that. UNIT didn't usually get their hands dirty with thieves, big time or not, but if the culprit was an alien, they could very well have been called in.

At any rate, he had a perfectly good cup of tea and some blueberry scones to munch on, and nothing short of the Doctor himself was going to be taking Harry away from that. Not on a Sunday. _Especially_ a Sunday he had off.

Twenty minutes later, when another convoy went by, Harry gave it a cursory glance, then did a double take. A very familiar light piece was poking out the top of the luggage on the convoy. There was only one thing in all of London that both had that light piece and which UNIT would be interested in. And that thing was the TARDIS.

Harry gulped the rest of his tea and hurried after the convoy.

-0-

They ended up near a tunnel and Harry hopped off the back of the convoy, patting the sheet covering the TARDIS fondly. Flashing his Department ID, he was directed to Captain Erisa Magambo, who was leading the operation.

"Sir!" she said, saluting him.

Harry saluted her back, smiling. "I'm off-duty, Captain, no need to salute."

Magambo nodded. "If you don't my asking, then, why are you here?"

Harry shrugged. "Saw the TARDIS on one of the convoys. Thought I'd see what sort of trouble the Doctor's gotten himself into this time."

Magambo nodded. "You know him, then?"

"Travelled with him for a time." Harry grinned. "So, what's the git up to?"

Magambo blinked at Harry's fond term for his long-time friend, but was quick to answer, all the same. "There's a wormhole just the other side of the barrier. The Doctor was on a bus that drove through it."

Harry nodded and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, which he pointed at the wormhole. "Hm. That's interesting." He considered the readings for a moment. "Other side of the universe, that. And is it..." He frowned up at the wormhole. "Is it getting _bigger_?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

Harry grimaced and put his sonic screwdriver away. "Yeah, beyond me," he decided, turning back to the Captain. "Have you got someone working on it?"

"Doctor Malcolm Taylor, sir. He's one of UNIT's finest."

Harry nodded. "Well then, we wait." He smiled at her. "I don't suppose you've got some tea about, have you?"

Magambo frowned at him.

Harry sighed. "Thought not."

"You don't have to stay, sir," Magambo informed him. "We've got the situation under control, and you _are_ off-duty."

Harry nodded his head from side to side a bit. "Could do, yeah. But I've been trying to find the Doctor for almost a month now. Need to talk to him a bit. Might as well wait around here." He grinned.

"Suit yourself," Magambo said, then turned and walked away, leaving Harry to find himself somewhere out of the way to sit.

-0-

It was almost thirty minutes later that the unlucky bus flew back through the wormhole. Harry shook his head in amusement at the Doctor and his entrance, but the amusement was short-lived when a group of stingray-like aliens followed them. UNIT immediately started shooting while Doctor Taylor set about closing the wormhole.

Harry reminded himself that he was off duty and leaned back against the TARDIS, letting the UNIT troops try and shoot down the creatures. When one of them got a little too close to the bus, however, Harry shot out a Killing Curse, bringing the thing down to Earth with a resounding clang.

Harry joined the rest of the troops in clapping as the Doctor brought the bus down, but stayed next to the TARDIS, leaving Doctor Taylor and Magambo to greet the Doctor first. He snorted to himself when Taylor hugged the Doctor and told him he loved him, and again when Magambo saluted.

When the TARDIS was unveiled, Harry also stepped out. The Doctor paused for a moment, grinning, then jumped forward and grabbed Harry in a hug. "Harry Potter! I thought you were here!" He pulled away and frowned. "Did you really use the Killing Curse?"

Harry shrugged. "Works on Daleks. It's good to see you again, Doctor."

Magambo stopped next to them. "I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up. I don't suppose either of you intend to help with the paperwork?"

"On my day off?" Harry said, grinning.

"Not a chance!" the Doctor agreed.

Magambo shook her head, looking rather like she'd expected their responses. "Until we meet again, then."

"Oh, I hope so!" the Doctor agreed and he waved as she walked off to finish gathering her men. He turned to Harry. "So, what are you doing here on your day off, then?"

"Looking for you, you git. You could have told one of us to watch out for Donna, you know." Harry frowned a bit. When the Doctor's face fell, Harry sighed and shook his head. "Oh, Doctor..."

A young woman ran up to them, smiling nervously. "Little blue box! Just like you said. Right then, off we go! Show me the stars."

"Who's she?" Harry asked, glancing at the woman curiously.

"Lady Christina de Souza," the Doctor offered, looking rather like he'd rather be anywhere but there. "And I'm not taking you with me, Christina."

"But, why not? I saved your life! And you saved mine."

"Sounds like you're even, to me," Harry commented.

"Harry," the Doctor warned, then looked back at Christina. "I'm not taking you with me."

"But... there are police all over. I'll go to prison."

"Yep."

"But you were right, it's not about the money, I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you... I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this. We're made for each other, you said so yourself. The perfect team," Christina tried, looking desperate. When the Doctor didn't look moved, she asked, "Why not?"

"People have travelled with me," the Doctor said, voice tight, "and I have lost them. I've lost them all." Harry grabbed the Doctor's hand and squeezed, needing to remind the Doctor that they weren't _all_ gone. "No more," the Doctor said, squeezing Harry's hand back.

A few cops ran over and gleefully arrested Christina. They walked her towards a car and Harry touched the Doctor's arm. "You're really going to let her go?"

The Doctor glanced at him, indecisive.

"Doctor?" another woman from the bus said. When the Doctor turned to look at her with a smile, she said, "You take care now."

"And you! Chops and gravy, lovely!" the Doctor replied.

"The things you remember about people," Harry muttered.

The woman didn't smile. "No, but you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir."

The Doctor blinked, something in his expression that Harry couldn't hope to decipher. "What do you mean?" he asked the woman.

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor... Oh, but then..." She took a deep breath. "He will knock four times."

The Doctor stared after her, haunted, and Harry shook his arm. "Doctor! What did she mean?" The Doctor said nothing. "Doctor?" Harry whispered.

The Doctor tore his eyes from where the woman had been standing and sidled around Harry to point his sonic screwdriver at Christina. He unlocked her cuffs, allowing her to escape and make a dash for the bus, which she locked herself into, smiling at the police who'd followed her.

When the Doctor got back from warning the two police to back up, Harry commented, "I think I like her."

The Doctor grinned and they stood there while Christina said goodbye, then flew off. When it looked like the two police were actually considering following through on their threat to arrest the Doctor for helping her, he gently shoved Harry into the TARDIS and drove them off, both laughing.

It didn't take long for the TARDIS to land again and a quick look at the monitor showed Harry they were outside his new flat. He frowned at the Doctor. "Why are we here?"

The Doctor looked at him for a long moment, so sad, then said, "I meant it, what I said to Christina. I'd like to travel alone for a while."

Harry smiled a bit disbelievingly and shook his head. "Alone? You never... You _hate_ travelling alone."

The Doctor looked down at the console. "Donna almost died, Harry–"

"We all came into this knowing that was a possibility, you git!"

The Doctor shook his head. "I'd like to travel alone."

Harry stared at the down-turned head for a long moment, fury warring with pain inside him. The fury won and he said, "Fine." He turned and started for the door. "Fine. Stay by yourself and be miserable, then. I hope you _rot_!" He tore open the door and slammed it shut behind him.

When the Doctor didn't come after him, Harry took a ragged breath, then started off towards his flat, wishing he'd never seen the TARDIS in the coffee shop.

-0-

Life went on as usual for a couple of months. An alien popping up here, a bit of tech falling from the sky there. Harry had too much time to think back on his parting with the Doctor, and he was still torn over how he felt. He was still part angry and part hurt, but concern for his friend was also clawing its way up, finally, and he would occasionally pull out his mobile and look at the Doctor's name in his contacts. Think about calling him. Ask him if he was okay.

He never did.

Summer went by and Harry took a week off work to go with the rest of the Weasleys to a family reunion in France, where Bill and Fleur lived. He had a great time and completely forgot about work and the Doctor for the entire week. It was the first time in a long time that had happened.

On the first of September, James started primary school at the same muggle school Harry had attended as a kid. Harry and Ginny had had a long argument about whether the kids would attend a muggle school or not and Harry eventually won by reminding Ginny that James already had a group of friends in the neighbourhood and would be most upset if he couldn't go. (Getting Hermione to talk to Ginny may have helped as well, but Harry liked to think it was solely his doing.)

When Harry visited on the fifth, James couldn't stop talking about his new school. He'd even drawn himself notes – with Ginny and his teacher's help – so he wouldn't forget anything. Harry kept grinning at Ginny as if to say, 'See. I told you sending him to the school would do him some good!' Ginny just scowled each time.

When Harry got in to work on Monday, he was feeling pretty good about the world. At ten thirty, however, that wonderful feeling was smashed by a panicked phone call from Ginny.

"Harry! There's something wrong!" she said, and he could hear the most un-Earthly scream in the background.

Harry jumped out of his chair and hurried from his office, making for the nearest apparation point and waving off the people who tried to stop him on his way. "Calm down, Ginny. Tell me what's going on."

Ginny took a deep breath and said, "When James was leaving for school this morning, all three of the kids just _stopped_. And then they started moving again and everything was okay. And they just stopped again, only this time they've started screaming and I don't know what to do!"

Harry nodded. "I'm on my way now. Okay?"

"Okay," Ginny whispered, voice almost lost in the scream.

Harry closed his phone and took the stairs to the atrium, rather than waiting for the lift. As soon as he cleared the wards, he apparated into the kitchen. Ginny was standing in the kitchen doorway, looking terrified, while the two children were sitting at the table with their lunches half eaten.

The children had stopped screaming, but were now repeating 'we' over and over. Slowly, the 'we' became 'we are', and the 'we are' became 'we are coming'. During all of it, Harry used first his wand and then his sonic screwdriver to check the kids over, but neither device found anything wrong.

Then, as if by some silent command, they stopped talking and just stared off into space for a few seconds before reanimating, apparently continuing a conversation started before the apparent possession.

Ginny practically leapt forward and smothered them with hugs and kisses while Harry stood back and frowned, trying to get the event to make sense.

It didn't.

"Dad?" Albus asked, looking around his mother at where his father was leaning against the kitchen wall.

"Daddy!" Lily squealed and waved her arms around in her high-chair. "Daddy visit!"

Harry managed a smile and walked over to the table to pick his daughter up. He kissed her cheek and got a smooch – complete with sticky fingers – in return. "Hey, brats. Just thought I'd pop by for lunch. I'm not too late, am I?" he said, ruffling Albus' hair, which the four-year-old made a face at.

Ginny gave a fake-sounding laugh and nodded. "Oh, yeah. Kreacher! Could you get Harry a sandwich?"

"Kreacher would be happy to, Mistress Ginny!" Kreacher called back, then snapped to work.

Harry sat down next to Albus, handing Lily to Ginny, since she looked like she needed to hold her daughter. He winked at his youngest son and said, "Don't tell James I came by, though, okay? No need to make him jealous."

Albus nodded and grinned. "Yeah, okay!" He turned to look at Lily. "Don't tell Jamie that Dad came to visit, okay?"

Lily giggled. "Kay!"

Kreacher handed Harry a plate with a couple of sandwiches. "Here you are, Master Harry!"

"Cheers, Kreacher," Harry replied and started in on his sandwich. In between bites, he asked the kids how they'd been since his last visit. Albus chattered on about playing the new video game Harry had brought James on Saturday – James' best friend had a Playstation 3, so James managed to beg Harry into getting him one for his birthday, which meant the kid wanted games for it – and watching the _Dragon Hunters_ film Harry had got him.

As Harry was finishing the last of his lunch, Ginny said, "Albus, why don't you go play a game for a bit. I need a word with your dad before he goes back to work." Kreacher popped over expectantly and took Lily from a grateful Ginny.

"Oh, okay..." Albus agreed, slouching a bit.

Harry smiled at him. "I'll pop in before I leave, kid, don't you worry. Maybe get the game to a really cool fighting scene and show me, yeah?"

Albus' eyes lit up. "Okay!" he agreed, then ran out of the room. Kreacher had already left to put Lily in her playpen.

Ginny sighed and sat down in the chair Albus had vacated. "Harry, do you have any idea what's going on?" she asked, eyes bright with worry.

Harry shook his head and sighed. "None. If I had to guess, I'd say some form of mass possession that the kids aren't aware of, but I can't say for sure, yet. I'll have to go back in and see what we found, if anything." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'll phone you as soon as I know something, okay?"

Ginny nodded. "Okay. What if they start..." She shivered. "What if they start doing that again?"

Harry considered that for a moment. "You can call me," he decided, "if you feel it's necessary. Otherwise, let it work itself out and give them all some cocoa after, is my best suggestion. Until we know more about what's happening, I can't give you a better idea."

Ginny nodded again. "Okay." She rubbed at her face.

Harry got out of his chair and wrapped her in a hug. "We'll get through this," he promised. "We always do."

"Yeah." Ginny managed a smile. "You going to call _him_?"

Harry frowned, not so much at Ginny's tone, but at the thought of the Doctor. "I haven't decided yet," he replied.

Ginny blinked. "That's a change."

"Yeah, well, last time we talked, we had a bit of a disagreement," Harry admitted. "If we're in over our heads, I'll consider calling him. But, for now, I'll let him alone." He turned and started towards the door of the kitchen. "I'm going to say goodbye to the kids."

"Okay. You be careful, Harry!" Ginny called after him.

Harry grinned at her around the doorway. "Nah. I'm the Chosen One. No need for care, me."

Ginny sighed.

-0-

As soon as Harry got back to the Department, he asked for any information they had on the children. Very little had been done about it – not many Department members had children, since a relationship was hard to maintain when you couldn't tell your partner what was going on and you were in danger from alien threats regularly – so Harry immediately set a group of people on it and had someone call UNIT. He, himself, rang Jack, but his phone was busy, so he made a mental note to try again later and traded with the man on the phone with UNIT, since he had a higher rank.

Twenty minutes later, Harry finally talked to someone who could and would give him the information that UNIT had compiled. By that time, the Department had mostly worked all that out on their own and Harry slammed the phone, muttering, "Thanks for nothing." He rubbed at his face, then tried Jack again. He didn't answer at all, so Harry tried the Hub phone, but that, too, went to voicemail. He muttered a few choice words about Jack being unreliable, then called a meeting.

They discussed their findings so far and it was pretty ugly. During both events, children all over the world had stopped at the exact same moment. During the second event, all of the children had said the exact same words, in English, no matter their native language.

And they had no idea how it was being done.

-0-

Harry had stayed late, trying to find an answer, so he was just leaving when Ginny rang him again. "They're doing it again," she whispered over the phone. In the background, Harry could hear the children saying, 'We are coming.'

"Alright. Do you want me to come over?" Harry asked, walking off the lift as the doors popped open and waving at the evening guard.

"Please?" Ginny agreed.

"I'll be there shortly," Harry promised and hung up. He took a moment to rub at his face, then apparated into the kitchen just in time to hear the children finish their chant with the word, 'Back'. He blinked at Ginny in surprise. That was new.

The kids were on their way out of the kitchen when they started chanting, and when they came back to life, the two boys continued to the living room, Kreacher already in there with Lily. Neither boy saw their father.

"Have you found anything?" Ginny pleaded, clutching a handful of forks to her chest.

Harry shook his head. "Nothing. We're working on it, still."

Ginny sighed and nodded, then went to put the utensils into the kitchen sink.

In the silence, Harry heard the telly from the living room: _"We're now getting reports of a massive explosion in the Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff just moments ago. The damage is massive–"_

Harry ran into the living room and stared at the mess that had once been the Plass. The Hub had been there. Jack and Ianto and Gwen.

"Dad?" Albus asked, glancing back at the doorway in surprise.

"I have to go," Harry said, looking at Ginny, who had come to stand next to him.

"But you work from London, not Cardiff!" Ginny complained as Harry hurried back to the designated apparation point in the kitchen.

"Yes, but a few of my friends work under the Plass. I need to make sure they're okay," Harry replied. "I'll be back," he added to Ginny's scared look. "I just need to make sure they're safe."

Ginny nodded. "Be careful."

Harry grinned, then apparated.

-0-

Harry appeared on top of one of the buildings in the Plass. Usually, only Torchwood came up to the top of the buildings surrounding their hideout – the perfect place to apparate in – so it came as something of a surprise for Harry to see another man at the edge with a gun. The man was firing at someone below and it took a quick spell to recognise Ianto.

Harry narrowed his eyes and pulled out his laser pen. He used the laser to burn a hole through the laser light, throwing off what little aim the man had, then held the pen to the man's forehead. "Shoot at him again and I'll burn through your skull. Clear?"

The man put down the gun, hands up in surrender. "Yeah, clear," he said.

Ianto had stopped to look when the shooting stopped. He was staring up at Harry, but Harry couldn't quite read the expression on his face.

The sound of a safety being released from behind Harry was joined by a gun to the back of his head. "Put down the pen," a woman said.

Harry took a deep breath and shouted, "Ianto! RUN!"

The woman changed her target and shot the pen. At the same time, she said, "Go after him," into an earpiece.

Harry swallowed and raised his hands above his head, letting the ruined pen drop off the roof. He was a little upset that one of his favourite toys was finally destroyed, but he had the schematics back in his desk to build a new one, if he could get the parts.

The woman stepped around Harry while the sniper Harry had been holding at pen-point placed his own handgun to his head. She smiled at him. "I thought there were only three Torchwood operatives," she said conversationally.

"Piss off," Harry retorted.

"What's your name, then?" she asked.

"Piss off," Harry repeated.

"If you were Torchwood, you'd been in their records. You're just a friend of theirs, then. What's your name?"

"Piss. Off."

The woman placed her gun against Harry's temple. "I can always find out after you're dead, if you'd prefer."

Harry considered that. Technically, he'd done nothing wrong, and as a member of UNIT, he could probably find out what the hell was going on and help Gwen and Ianto. Assuming Gwen was okay. "Major Harry Potter," he said at last. "UNIT."

The woman smiled. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" she asked, putting her gun away.

Harry frowned at her. "Yeah? Why don't you tell me what the hell's going on here? And why the _fuck_ are you shooting Torchwood operatives?"

"I'm afraid I don't answer to you, Major Potter."

Harry smiled. "No? You don't look like you out-rank me, so I'd say you do answer to me."

"Let me clarify: I don't answer to UNIT."

"The _hell_ you don't!"

"You UNIT boys are all the same," she said, suddenly sticking a needle Harry hadn't noticed her holding into his neck. "You're all talk and no brain."

Harry's vision went black.

-0-

When Harry woke, he was in a cell. A quick check found that his mobile and his sonic screwdriver were both gone. His wand, and other various and sundry objects, however, were all still safe in their muggle-repelling pockets. He was rather upset about the missing sonic and settled down to pout about it, hoping someone would come for him soon, since he was hungry. He did have an apple in his pocket that was looking a bit peaked, but he started munching on it anyway, hoping it would tide him over until they came and fed him properly.

Harry was actually content to wait, for once. If he didn't turn up for work and didn't answer his mobile when the Head of the Department rang him, they would send someone looking for him, and then that woman _would_ be answering to UNIT, like it or not.

It seemed like hours went by, with Harry napping once or twice, before anything at all happened. He woke from another nap to an alarm blaring. "Prison break?" he wondered, then shrugged and hopped off the concrete 'wall' he'd been napping on. He walked over to the door and spelled it open, then walked right out. It had a high chance of being a member of the Department, considering how long he'd been in there, and Harry figured finding them would be easier than just staying put. (That, and Harry didn't stay put well.)

He absently summoned his sonic and mobile to him and was just about to turn a corner when the shooting started, some of the bullets hitting the wall in front of him. Harry was considering what to do when he felt a gun at the back of his head and a group of men swarmed around him to aim at whoever the intruders were. "This is getting a little old," Harry commented as the woman shoved him forward.

Gwen and Rhys stood against an open door. Harry and Gwen stared at each other for a moment and Gwen said, " _Harry_?"

"Hi," Harry replied, waving a bit.

"Put the guns down before I shoot your friend," the woman ordered Gwen.

"Yeah? And how do I know he's not working with you?" Gwen demanded.

Harry nodded. "Good point. You could just be bluffing her. And Gwen and I aren't really friends. More acquaintances. Now, if you _really_ wanted to get someone's knickers in a twist, you'd threaten me when Jack is your opponent. Then again, Jack would probably just shoot around me and hope he missed." He offered Gwen a crooked smile.

Before Gwen could decide whether to shoot him a smile back, the concrete block next to her was pulled away from the building, sending up dust everywhere.

"Go!" Gwen ordered Rhys, shoving him into the opening.

Harry crouched and spun, pulling out his wand. " _Stupefy_!" he snapped, downing the group of men – as well as that bloody woman – behind him. Then he ran after Gwen and Rhys.

"Get on!" Ianto shouted at him from the seat of forklift, Rhys and Gwen already with him.

Harry grabbed on to the side next to Ianto, then joined Gwen in shooting at their pursuers. They paused briefly to move a lorry, which Gwen then blew up, blocking the road. Then they hurried on to the edge of a quarry, where Ianto dropped the cinder block. When they drove down to in it Ianto's car, they picked up Jack, then hurried back to London.

Once they were back on their way, Harry spelled Jack's handcuffs off and left Gwen to field Rhys' questions about his magic. He also conjured some clothing for Jack, but warned, "It's not going to stay, Jack. You'll get about three hours out of that, then we'll have to either find you some real clothing, or conjure some more."

"Can't you, I don't know, transfigure some?" Gwen asked.

"I am a bit shite at transfiguring," Harry admitted. "It'll have to be of the same sort of material and be something near the same mass if you want it to last any longer than something conjured." He glanced at Gwen with a grimace. "Contrary to the fandom – and, yes, I read fanfiction on slow days; some of it's _really_ scary – I am not all powerful."

"Scary as in wet-your-pants scary or scary as in it's-scary-someone-actually-thought-to-write-this?" Jack asked, glancing back at Harry with a grin.

"Yes," Harry replied. "Far too much of the fandom seems to think I belong with Malfoy or Snape. There's even a faction that thinks I should be getting it on with Voldemort! _Voldemort_ I tell you!"

Jack laughed at him.

"Yeah, you would think that's funny."

"Harry?" Gwen asked over Jack's laughter.

"Hm?"

"What were you doing at that facility?"

"Rotting in a cell, far as I could tell," Harry replied drily. "They didn't even bloody feed me."

"Harry helped me escape from the Hub," Ianto offered. "He distracted the sniper."

"Yeah? And what's to say you haven't been working with them the whole time?" Gwen demanded, glaring at Harry.

"I trust him," Jack offered. "Now, leave him alone about it. Harry, have you called the Department? See if they know anything about what's going on?"

Harry nodded and pulled out his mobile. Before he could use it, Gwen snatched it out of his hands. "They could track us with this!"

"No they can't," Harry snapped back, snatching it back. "It's not Earth technology; the Doctor gave it to me. It runs off the TARDIS. Any traces will get lost in the Time Vortex." He pulled up Hermione's number and rang her. " 'Mione?"

"Merlin's balls, Harry! What the bloody fuck is going on?!"

Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise at Hermione's language. "I haven't the faintest. I'm hoping you can tell me."

Hermione groaned. "We've got word that you were behind the bombing in the Cardiff Bay area last night. Half the police force and the aurors are on the look-out for you, and we've all been told to report anything we hear about you. I'm not sure how many of our people will actually be hunting for you, but..."

Harry cursed under his breath. "I was with Ginny during the bombing. Is she okay? Are the kids?"

"They're under surveillance. The muggles tried pulling rank over the aurors to watch them, but the aurors showed exactly why the muggles won't be able to keep their eyes on her. So aurors are watching her now. Mostly the ones who refuse to believe you're part of the bombing, from what I hear."

Harry nodded. "Send her my love, then. Please? And the kids."

"I will. But, Harry, what's going on? Where are you?" Hermione pleaded.

"I can't tell you, 'Mione. I don't know what's going on and I can't tell you where I am until I figure that out. I'm sorry." He hung up the phone, then pulled out his wand and quickly cast a series of personal wards to keep any tracking spells from finding any of them. "No help from my people," he told the car once he was done. "They've got a warrant out for me."

"And I'm sure your people are doing _everything_ in their power to find you," Jack commented sarcastically.

Harry snorted. "They sure are. Out in force as we speak. Don't worry, though. Even if they do start trying, I've set up wards. They can't track any of us." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What I'd like to know is why the fuck they're hunting you lot down."

Gwen explained what she'd heard from Lois Habiba about John Frobisher, Torchwood's contact in the Home Office, being the one to mark Jack – and, by extension, Ianto and Gwen – down for murder.

They were all left to chew on that as Ianto pulled up next to some warehouses. He led them into one of them saying, "This is us. This is Torchwood. This is home."

-0-

After lighting a fire, a minor fight over Jack finding out Gwen was pregnant before Rhys, and some sleep all around, they gathered around a make-shift table and set down the things they had that might be useful.

"So, we've got... Guns, a _sonic_ screwdriver and a pen knife. Laptop, now dead. Credit cards and a phone, which they can trace; one phone they can't. Lemsip. Couple potions. _Giant Book of Sudoku_. Book of stamps. Pair of contact lenses. Fifteen quid, four galleons and two knuts," Jack said of their booty.

"Plus twenty-five pence. And some bloody alien thing turning up today," Gwen helpfully added, putting the change on the table.

"We've still got some of the Torchwood software though. We've lost the Hub, but the software still exists on the server. Trouble is we're gonna need some more equipment, not to mention electricity," Ianto offered.

"And how are we gonna manage that, hidden away like criminals?" Rhys asked.

"Well that's it. Brilliant!" Gwen said, perking up.

"What?"

"Criminals. Thieves. Us. Well, they're treating us like criminals, let's be criminals. Listen, I trained with the police, I know every trick in the book! I've seen the lot! Come on, boys. You're gonna learn some tricks!" Gwen grinned at them all.

-0-

After Gwen put them through the tricks she knew, they set out to see what they could get. When Rhys had suggested that Harry could use magic to get some of the stuff, Harry had agreed and set off to liberate a computer store that he knew of which opened late on Wednesdays. He also used some magic to confound a cashpoint, then zapped it with his sonic screwdriver and got them some cash.

Harry then went with Ianto to shop for clothing for everyone, as well as some food.

When Harry and Ianto got back, they received something of a minor chewing out, but all was forgiven at the sight of food, as well as new clothing all around. Especially the new military coat for Jack.

Freshly clothed, and with Rhys and Harry working on making food and coffee, the three Torchwood members took to their computers. Gwen suggested using some contacts she had to give them a pair of eyes in the building when the aliens arrived. Jack agreed to letting her try, so she hurried off with a quick sandwich, waving off the offered coffee.

Jack and Ianto kept working, chatting about inane things, which Rhys and Harry mostly ignored, both talking about life in general. Rhys had heard from Gwen that Harry had kids of his own, so the older man badgered Harry for tips about taking care of babies.

At one point, Jack turned and asked Harry and Rhys if they could go out to buy some discs. Rhys commented that one of them needed to stay to watch the food and Harry said, "Jack, we're not leaving the building so you and Ianto can have a moment together. If you want to play, there's plenty of room in this warehouse to go off where we can't hear you."

Rhys choked and Ianto looked a little horrified. Jack considered that. "You might have a point," he said, turning to Ianto. Ianto turned back to his computer and found Clement McDonald. After talking about his early life, Jack made Ianto bring up pictures of the three people who'd been killed at the same time as the attack on the Hub. Jack mumbled to himself a bit, then hurried out of the warehouse, leaving the other three staring after him.

-0-

After the spectacular arrival of the aliens known as the 456 in the Thames House, Gwen brought Clement 'Clem' McDonald back to the warehouse, after they'd found him at a police station. They all sat around one of the laptops to watch the drama going on in Thames House through the contacts Lois Habiba was wearing for them. When the 456 mentioned that they wanted the children, they were all a bit horrified, but that was all put on hold by Jack returning and Clem freaking out, since Jack had been the man to hand the children Clem had been with years ago over to the 456 the last time.

Clem shot Jack and Gwen hurried forward to take the gun from him while Ianto hurried to Jack's side. Harry and Rhys stayed back, Rhys trying to talk Gwen into leaving Clem alone while Harry prepared to cast magic if it was needed to keep the other humans safe. He couldn't die with the Hallows in his pockets, after all, and Jack would never forgive him if one of his team got hurt while Harry could have stopped it.

As it turned out, Harry didn't need to intervene, as Gwen managed to get Clem to hand her back the gun, which she passed on to Rhys. When Jack came back, Clem ran for it and they were all a bit awkward until they were reminded about Lois and the meeting going on in Thames House. They all returned to it.

They watched on, horrified and more than a little sick at the child the 456 had in the tank with them. When the recess was called, they all went their separate ways to consider what had happened.

Harry called Ginny.

"Ginny Potter," the woman said, and Harry could hear pots banging about.

Harry blinked in surprise; the caller-id on the phone should have told her who it was. "Ginny?"

There was a sound of something muffling the phone and Ginny said, "It's my mum. Do you lot bloody well mind?!" After a moment, Ginny said, "Mum? What can I do for you?"

Harry let out the breath he'd been holding. " 'Mione told me you were being watched. Are you all okay? I heard James was to stay home today."

Ginny banged a couple more pots around. "Yeah, we're fine. Bit sick of those fools hovering about. Kreacher keeps offering to kick them out." There was a faint smile in her voice. "Course James is home, Mum. Nowhere else to send him. I know you don't have a telly or anything..."

Harry smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "Good."

"How're things there, then? I heard Ron's stuck at home, something about punching his partner because he said Harry's clearly gone dark or some such?"

Harry groaned. "He didn't?"

"He's offered to come over here, then? Nah, tell him I don't need another auror mucking about. Had to send the kids out back with Kreacher, so I'm tripping over less feet." She laughed like she sometimes did with Molly, when one of them complained about the housework. "You're out doing some shopping, then? Can't be bothered to send Giggles?" she asked, referring to the house-elf Harry had got the Weasley's a couple of years ago to make life easier for Molly, since she had two children to look after full time, and wasn't as young as she used to be.

"I can't tell you where I am," Harry said. "I just needed to make sure you were all safe. Something weird is going on."

Ginny let out another loud laugh, then banged a couple of dishes and whispered, "I know. You couldn't have blown that building. Told them you were here at the time it happened."

Harry nodded. "It's okay. I'm with some friends of mine–"

"The same ones you were worried about?"

"Yes. They're all okay. We're trying to get to the bottom of this. Just... Stay with the kids, Ginny. Don't let them out of your sight," he pleaded.

"Okay," Ginny whispered, fear creeping into her voice. "I'll do that. Will you be visiting again soon? I can't leave the house with the aurors about, you know."

"I'll be by as soon as this is over," Harry promised. "It'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay. Be careful."

Harry smiled. "I will be. Kiss the kids." He hung up and leaned back against the wall, staring down at the phone. His kids were safe. They were safe and there was _no way_ he'd be letting those monstrous aliens touch them. No way.

Filled with new determination, Harry stalked back into the warehouse to watch the conclusion of the whole bloody mess.

-0-

Once the government decided on which ten percent of the nation's children they would be giving to the aliens, Torchwood, Harry and Rhys put their own plan into effect: Rhys took a copy of the recordings they'd made with the contacts and ran for it. Jack and Ianto made their way towards Thames House, intending to lead the woman who'd taken Harry and Jack hostage to where Gwen, Clem and Harry were waiting with the continued recording by letting them trace their calls. Lois was asked to inform the government that Torchwood had them, so Jack and Ianto could get in to talk to the 456.

As expected, the woman – Agent Sarah Johnson, according to the files they'd pulled up – and a team of men practically burst into the warehouse, guns at the ready. Harry moved quickly to one side as one of the men took up a position a little too close to where he'd been standing under his cloak. Clem was so surprised at the entrance he gave a shout and turned to face them, a little scared.

Gwen just smiled and looked around, completely confident in the reactions they'd expected, as well as the knowledge that Harry was about, somewhere, willing and able to pop in and protect her and Clem, if need be. "We’ve been expecting you," she said to Johnson.

"On the floor! Face down, hands on your head!" Johnson demanded.

Clem knelt and placed his hands above his head, but Gwen just kept smiling."You traced Ianto's calls, did you?" she asked.

"On the floor!" Johnson shouted and Harry moved so he was between her and Gwen, since the bloody woman still had her weapon aimed at Gwen's head. Johnson couldn't see him, and neither could Gwen, which made Harry the perfect guard for the Welsh woman.

"And now that you’re here, you can take me to Alice and Steven Carter," Gwen commented, ever so calm, as if she didn't have a gun pointed at her head.

"You'll be in the very next cell," Johnson said hotly. "On second thought, maybe I'll just have you shot while resisting arrest."

"That would me a mistake."

"Why?"

"Take a look at what we've been recording."

Prime Minister Green's voice echoed as he insisted that Torchwood had been destroyed. Johnson stepped forward a bit, gun lowering to watch, and Harry stepped off to one side, keeping his eyes trained on her and his wand trained on the men around them who had yet to lower their weapons.

Gwen smiled. "What she’s telling them is my gorgeous husband has recordings of them all secretly agreeing to sacrifice millions of innocent children to the aliens. Now, him and his laptop, at this very moment, are in a secret location. And he’s ready to press send and tell the whole world what’s been going on, unless you do exactly as we say."

Johnson looked a bit surprised and not a little bit interested.

Gwen stood up from her chair. "Take a seat, maybe you’ll learn something about the people you've been working for." She took Clem's arm to help him to his own feet. "Come on, Clem."

Gwen pulled over a few chairs while Johnson took hers, waving for her men to stand down. They all sat – or, in Harry's case, stood behind the chairs, still invisible – and watched as Jack and Ianto spoke to the 456, telling them they couldn't have the kids, and that the 456 needed to get off the planet.

"You yielded in the past," the 456 said again and again, as if expecting that would change their minds.

Jack and Ianto suggested the 456 look at what they know of Earth and see how humans would react to the 456 taking their children. When the 456 laughed at it, Jack said, "We’re making this a war."

"Then the fight begins," the 456 replied.

"We’re waiting for your reply," Jack said when the aliens didn't say anything more.

"Action has been taken," the 456 said and the alarms of the building went off.

"What have you done?" Jack shouted.

"You wanted a demonstration of war. A virus has been released. It will kill everyone in the building."

Gwen turned to Johnson, looking panicked. "Can we override it?" she asked.

Johnson shook her head. "I don’t know."

Gwen turned back towards the room at large. "Harry, get them out of there!" she called.

Harry pulled off his cloak, making Clem and Johnson both jump in surprise and Gwen shake her head. "On it," he said and apparated into the room they could see from the camera.

When he got there, Ianto and Jack were both shooting at the glass cage the 456 was in. Harry threw a massive bubble charm over all three of them, cutting them off from the air in the rest of the building. "Bullet-proof glass," he commented, casting a spell to clear the air inside the bubble. "Now stop shooting or you'll let in more of the virus."

"You are dying, even now," the 456 said, then let out a horrible screeching noise.

Harry turned to Ianto and started scanning him for any virus, since Jack and Harry himself would be fine if it kept in their systems. He was vaguely aware of Jack ordering the 456 to stop the noise. Then Harry found the traces of the virus and, frowning in concentration, burned it away with magic.

Ianto gasped and clutched at his throat. Jack hurried forward and grabbed his arms. "Ianto?" he whispered.

Harry scanned Ianto again and nodded. "He's clean. Come here, Jack." When Jack stepped forward, Harry cleaned the virus out of his system as well, then cleaned himself, hissing at the burning pain that came with the healing. Silently, he thanked the Department for insisting they all be kept up to date on the newest in alien viruses and a good way to combat most new ones.

"Can you save anyone else?" Jack asked Harry, leaning against Ianto as the mortal wheezed a bit. Jack had recovered from the magic burn far faster than Ianto, and since it had been Harry's magic, it hadn't hurt him as bad.

Harry considered his scans. "Should be able to save one or two more," he agreed, handing Ianto a pain potion. Then he called a bit of the bubble charm around himself and carefully cut it away from the bubble protecting the other two. Once he was sure they'd all be okay, he ran from the room and out into the hall, looking for someone he could help.

Two floors down, he found a woman crouched in the stairwell, sobbing and hugging herself. He quickly threw up the bubble charm around her and cleared the air, then knelt, touching her shoulder. "Hey, look at me." She looked up at him, eyes bloodshot and filled with terror. "I can help. I can get rid of the virus in your body, but it's going to burn a bit. I need you to trust me."

She swallowed. "Who... Who are you?" she whispered.

"Harry Potter," Harry replied, flashing her a winning smile he may have stolen from Jack. When she nodded, eyes wide with something like disbelief, Harry pointed his wand at her and carefully burned the virus away. It took longer, since it had got further in her system, but he managed to get it all and handed her a pain potion, directing her to drink it, then continued down the stairs.

Everyone else he came across was dead and he leaned back against the wall in the lobby, pulling out his mobile. He rang Ianto's mobile.

"Tell me some good news," Jack asked.

"I saved one," Harry replied, running a hand through his hair and tugging on it. "The rest are dead. You two?"

"We're fine," Jack said. "Well, as fine as we can be while staring at a monster in a glass cage. It still seems to think we're about to die."

Harry nodded. "Might as well leave it to gloat, then," he said a bit drily. "The woman I found was about two levels below you in the stairwell. If you want to collect her, I'll see about clearing the air and unsealing the building so the cleanup teams can get in here."

Jack sighed. "You realise this means we've lost, right?" he said, and he sounded so, so very tired.

Harry smiled, staring down at the pile of dead bodies in front of the glass doors. "Oh, I don't think we've ever, really lost. Just a minor setback, really."

Jack laughed and it sounded hollow. "We'll meet you downstairs."

"I'll phone Gwen. Let her know we survived."

"Okay."

Harry hung up and dialled Gwen's number while he picked his way over to the security desk, winding between bodies with a heavy heart.

Gwen picked up on the second ring. "Harry!"

"Hey, Gwen. Jack and Ianto and I are alive. I'm going to try and clean the air in here."

"Can you do that?" Gwen asked.

"I've got a sonic screwdriver," Harry replied with a laugh as hollow as Jack's had been. "I can do anything. Are you lot okay? No funny moves from Johnson and her band of merry men?"

Gwen laughed. "No. But..." she trailed off.

Harry paused, sonic pointed at the controls, but not on. "Gwen?"

"Clem is dead. That sound from the 456 killed him."

Harry hissed out an angry breath. "Bastard." He turned the sonic on angrily and turned off the alarm. "You know, just once, I'd like to meet an alien not set on world destruction. Other than the Doctor, I mean. So bloody tired of aliens thinking they can shove us about and demand things and kill people..."

"I know," Gwen whispered. "I know."

Harry rubbed at his face, then used the sonic to fix the flashing red lights, since they were starting to give him a headache and he'd rather save his pain potions for an emergency. "I'm going to attack the air, then. We'll see you soon enough, I suppose. Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Harry hung up and turned his full attention to the controls. "Right. Fresh air without a bloody virus. Let's try that..."

-0-

"You're just going to _let_ them take all those children?" Harry demanded, disbelievingly. "Use them as _drugs_? Have you no fucking hearts?"

"Major, you're not so important that I can't have you removed from here," General Pierce replied a bit sharply. He was American and not of UNIT, but he still held rank over both Harry and the highest-ranking UNIT man on the case, Colonel Oduya, so both answered to him.

Harry glared at him. No, he was, by no means, important to the operation, but when Jack and Ianto had been dragged off to prison and Gwen and Rhys had gone to protect Ianto's sister's children – a favour from their captors – Harry had turned to the UNIT soldiers who'd come to clear Thames House of the bodies and flashed his credentials, demanding he be allowed to see the commanding officer in charge of the mission. When he'd threatened to tell his own people the truth behind the 'inoculations' for the children if he wasn't allowed to sit in on the proceedings, he was told to sit in a chair in the corner and shut up, since no muggle really wanted to face an angry witch or wizard, guns or no guns.

Harry had never actually intended to shut up, though he'd made a good show of it until Colonel Oduya had asked the 456 what they used the children for and they found out the aliens treated them like some sort of drug.

"Don't you have any children of your own?" he asked, looking around the room. "Don't you have family you would want protected?"

Pierce turned to him, eyes cold. "And what would you have us do, Major? Fight an enemy that has so many advantages over us?"

"Better than letting our children be used like some alien plaything."

Pierce opened his mouth to retort and Harry's mobile went off. Glaring, Harry answered it, "Potter."

"Harry, I need your help to save the world," Jack said on the other end.

Harry smiled nastily at the room. "Good to know not everyone on this vile planet has given up hope," he said, then stalked from the room. "What do you need, Jack?"

Jack took a deep breath, then, "I need a child that won't be missed."

Harry stopped, balanced awkwardly during the process of taking a step. He stared ahead of him, thinking. A child that wouldn't be missed. A child that could be killed without anyone the wiser...

"Harry?" Jack said.

Harry started walking again. "You're sure this will work?"

"It's all we've got."

He nodded. "Where are you?"

"Where we were... detained," Jack offered distastefully. "Someone will meet you at the main entrance."

"No more forklifts?" Harry replied.

"Afraid not. And, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Please hurry."

Harry nodded and snapped his mobile closed, then apparated to an orphanage he knew of just outside London proper. A magical child had shown up there a few years ago and Harry had been a member of the auror team sent to deal with the damage caused by the child's temper once or twice. The living conditions weren't bad, but a few of the children had various disabilities that couldn't be fixed with the orphanage's budget as it was. And nobody wanted a damaged child.

"Miss Freeman?" Harry said, poking his head into the office of the orphanage's keeper.

A wide-eyed woman looked up at him. "Oh, it's your lot," she said tiredly. "Come to deal with the talking children?"

Harry nodded. "Something like that. A friend of mine is working on it, something different from these bloody 'inoculations' the government is yapping on about. But he needs a child to work with. Could I borrow one?"

"I suppose this would be the place you would come when trying to find a child no one cares about," Freeman agreed, pulling herself to her feet. "Keith would be the best choice, I think. He's been a bit crazy from the start. Likes to bite anything that comes in range, just to warn you. He's drawn blood more than a few times."

Harry nodded and followed the older woman up the stairs to a door. "Thank you," he said as she stopped outside the door. "I think I can manage Keith." He smiled.

Miss Freeman shrugged. "Suit yourself. And feel free to lose him or some such on your way back." She walked back down the hall, towards her office.

Harry took a deep breath and stepped into the room. A boy sat on the worn bed, smiling in a way that made Harry wonder why he hadn't been 'lost' yet. Miss Freeman wasn't known for her fondness for children – Harry had always wondered why she'd taken the job, but never asked – and it wasn't uncommon for a particularly difficult child in her care to go missing.

Harry shot a stunning spell at the boy, not willing to waste time talking to the child, then apparated them to the base. There, he was hurried through to a large space where Jack, Ianto and Johnson stood. "Found you a kid," he said with a forced smile.

"Put him on the platform," Jack ordered. "And can you wake him? I don't know if it's actually important, but..."

Harry nodded and set the boy on the platform. He bound him in ropes, then woke him, stepping quickly out of range. The boy immediately started biting the ropes, trying to get free. "She wasn't joking," he muttered to himself as he walked over to stand behind Jack. "I'd do it quick, if I were you. This kids is known for chewing through anything."

"This won't be pretty," Jack warned him, then hit a button.

The boy stopped chewing and started to scream an impossible sound. It was almost like the scream Harry had once heard over the phone, but, somehow, so much worse, because the sound shouldn't have been possible to come from a child's throat.

Then the boy started to vibrate. He vibrated with the horrible sound and blood ran from his ears and his nose. It was a horrible sight.

It looked like Harry would be 'losing' Keith, no matter his intentions.

When it was all over, when Keith had fallen silent and keeled over, they were quiet, staring at the child's body as if they expected it to get back up again and start gnawing at the ropes. But he never would. He was dead.

Torchwood and Harry Potter had killed one unwanted boy to save millions of children the world over. Harry wasn't sure who got the better deal.

-0-

"So, now what?" Gwen asked as they all sat down in her and Rhys' living room with tea or coffee. "We've saved the world and the Crown is perfectly willing to give us as much money as we'd like to rebuild." She waved about her mobile, which had received the call from said Crown.

"Aren't you tired of living underground?" Harry asked, considering them all over his mug. "I know I get sick of it after a while. But, hey, we've got magic windows out into the park or wherever."

"Secret organization," Jack replied automatically.

"And that necessitates an underground base?" Harry replied.

"Your own government does it," Jack pointed out.

"Hmm..." Harry considered his tea, then shrugged. "Magic people aren't ready to play around on the surface, and we tend to keep more quiet about ourselves. You lot sticker everything with a 'T' and drive around in a great big SUV with 'Torchwood' stamped on the sides. Everyone in Cardiff knows who you are. And they seem to have a pretty good idea about what you do, too. You're not particularly 'secret'."

"He's got a point," Ianto helpfully joined in.

Jack rolled his eyes. "That doesn't solve the problem about where our new base should be. If not under the Plass, then where? It needs to be somewhere close to the Rift."

"Does it?" Gwen asked, cocking her head to one side. "Tosh's Rift predictor program was saved, and most things come through away from the Hub, anyway."

"Might be good to move away from the Rift, anyway," Ianto commented. "Lest we get another member who decides to use the manipulator to open the Rift."

"Why not somewhere near the Plass, but not under it?" Gwen said thoughtfully. "Maybe connected to the tunnels under the Plass, so we can still get to the manipulator if we need to, but have a secure lock or some such on it. Use it only in emergencies."

"Is there a building near the Plass that's got enough space for us?" Jack asked, looking a little bemused.

"Aren't they building a new centre down Pierhead Street?" Rhys offered. "Lots of office space and everything. Bit of a high-rise, yeah? Supposed to be done in a couple months."

They all sort of stared at the man for a long moment before Jack jumped to his feet. "Show me."

Rhys sighed, but got up anyway. They all piled into the two cars they had and drove out past the Plass and down past Pierhead Street to where a building was being built. It was about four storeys high and had some impressive office space, as Rhys had said it did.

"This is posh," Gwen commented, considering the shiny exterior. "How hard would it be to take over a couple of offices and claim them as Torchwood?"

"How many offices are already bought?" Ianto replied and they all walked over to the listing on the side of the fence surrounding the building.

After some brief discussion and a lot of guesswork, they figured that about half the building was bought.

"So we buy the other half for Torchwood," Jack decided, clearly warming to the idea.

"We're going to put 'Torchwood' on the business label?" Gwen replied drily.

"It would look suspicious if half the building was owned by one company," Ianto commented.

"So buy it under a bunch of different names," Harry suggested. "Fake names, mind. Names that have something to do with Torchwood, but which people in the know might not catch."

"Like what?" Jack asked, leaning back against the fence and looking between the three others – Rhys had gone off to buy them all some lunch a few minutes into their guesswork.

"What was the name of the man who owned the Torchwood Estate before he died?" Harry asked, casting back to his memory of Rose telling him about the adventure. "Sir Robert MacLeish?"

"How do you know that?" Gwen demanded, looking a little impressed.

Harry glanced at Jack. "A flower told me about it," he said and Jack smiled. "Dame Rose?" he added as another suggestion.

"A flower shop?" Jack replied, though something in his face suggested he liked the idea.

"Yeah. Why not?" Gwen agreed.

"Who would staff it?" Ianto asked.

"We'd need more staff," Jack agreed, eyes firmly on Harry. "Know anyone looking for a job?"

"Well, there was that girl... Lois, I think? The one you lot got thrown in prison?" Harry suggested, grinning. "And you might finally be able to talk Martha and Mickey into joining when they get back from their honeymoon."

Jack nodded. "I seem to recall making that same offer to another member of UNIT."

Harry blinked in mock confusion. "Really? But it was only the four of us that day. Unless you mean Sarah Jane, but she doesn't like you..."

Gwen giggled and Jack rolled his eyes. "UNIT, also known as the Department," he offered, circling his hand as if waiting for Harry to finish his sentence.

Harry chuckled. "Jack, are you asking me to quit another job in the Ministry?"

"Yes," Jack deadpanned, tone turning a little serious. "Harry, if you hadn't been there, Ianto would be dead. Stephen would be dead. That woman in Thames House would be dead. That's three lives you saved."

"And one unloved boy died instead," Harry replied quietly.

"How many others would have died in his place if UNIT had been left to handle things alone?" Ianto offered gently.

Harry considered the hopeful look on Ianto and Gwen's faces and the pleading look on Jack's. He sighed and rubbed at his face. Sometimes, working in the Department was more paperwork than fun, he knew. Chasing Weevils with Jack on his days off had always been fun, and he'd almost started to live for those days, when he wasn't waiting for the Doctor.

He nodded. "I have conditions, however."

"Name them," Jack replied while Gwen cheered and Ianto smirked a bit.

"First, I'm not using a bloody gun," Harry said, waving his finger in Jack's face.

Jack sighed. "Well, it's not like you're not already armed."

Harry grinned and took out his wand. "Oh, this?"

Jack chuckled and waggled his eyebrows.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Second, unless it's the apocalypse, I get Saturday mornings off. Until about two. I'll come in for the apocalypse."

Jack nodded. "I think I can do that."

"Can I call a day to have off every week?" Gwen asked, taking a hot dog from Rhys.

"Sure," Jack agreed with a smile that screamed danger. "What do you plan to do with it?"

Gwen considered that, then looked at Harry, who was thanking Rhys for his own hot dog. "What will you use that time for?"

"Visiting my kids," Harry replied promptly, eyes dark. "I lost what little family I had because I loved my job too much; I'm not losing the rest of them to run around Cardiff, chasing Weevils."

"Oh." Gwen blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry shrugged. "I see them every Saturday. And, really, it's true that you never know what you have until you lose it. I treasure them a lot more knowing that they don't live in the same house with me." He sighed and nodded to Gwen's stomach. "Don't let yourself get so caught up in your job that you lose what's really important in this world."

Gwen nodded, wide-eyed.

Jack cleared his throat. "Just two conditions?"

Harry smirked, then. "One last one," he promised. "If you try getting into my trousers, I reserve the right to use whatever spell comes to mind first on you."

Jack blinked once, then nodded very, very slowly. "Right." He coughed and rubbed at his chin. "Mental note made. Welcome to the team."

After they got a bit of glee out of their system, Jack asked, "Have any more names for Torchwood to go under, Harry? You seem to be on a roll."

Harry grinned. "I think I can come up with a couple more."

-0-

As far as anyone, even the builders, knew, six different companies moved into the empty offices in the building. The only thing the offices had in common was that they signed on within days of each other and, once the building was open for business, were rarely open. Both Dame Rose, the flower shop, and Koh-i-Nor, the jewellers, would open occasionally. But the shops on the upper floors, such as the law office and the gay services office, never seemed to be open, but they also seemed the sorts to do private business. The computer repair shop on the third floor, Sir Doctor, was open every Saturday morning, but never seemed to get any real business.

And as for 'The Hub'? Well, no one knew what it was for, and few were willing to ask any questions of the sharp-eyed woman with a cold smile that usually sat the reception desk.

In reality, the group of offices had all been interconnected by Harry after he, Jack, Ianto and Gwen poured over building schematics for two weeks. Before they even invited the rest of their new team in after the building opened – including Mickey, Martha, Lois and Sarah Johnson – Harry took to it with his magic. He'd completely cut out the centre of the building on the bottom three floors, so they could see down into the first floor, where the conference table sat. Along the back wall was a switch that operated the lift up to the fourth floor and down to the basement that Harry had added on, which housed the cages for aliens and the secured door to the tunnels that led to the old Hub. (The secured door required the retinal scans and pass codes of everyone on the staff, and Harry had worked with Mickey after the rest of the team had got to the Hub to make sure that not even his sonic screwdriver could by-pass the lock.)

Everyone had their workstation in the same general area as their supposed business: Harry's desk sat just behind the door into the flower shop he "owned". A bit of magic had given him something of a see-through wall, so he was able to keep his shop open without actually being in the shop. He'd surrounded his desk with the flowers he sold, and had added various alien and magical baubles next to the computer monitor so it felt a bit more like home. A door off to the side of his shop opened into another room filled with plants, but those were alien, and Harry was forced to weekly assure Jack that no one had been sold any alien plants.

Lois Habiba worked next door to Harry at her jewellery shop – it turned out that making jewellery was one of her passions – and a magic window like Harry's had allowed her to also keep her shop open as often as possible. Her own desk was mostly covered in papers, but Harry kept her stocked with a bouquet of yellow roses every week, to add a bit more colour. To the side of her shop was the kitchen, which Lois and Harry took weekly turns keeping stocked with snacks for their co-workers. Ianto frequented it to make coffee for the group, but Harry always made his own tea. (He'd almost converted Lois back to tea, as well, much to his delight. It helped that Ianto threatened horrible things to anyone who touched his coffee machine.)

On the second floor was 'The Hub', which was run by Martha, Johnson – Harry could never bring himself to call her by her first name – and, when she wasn't on maternity leave, Gwen, with their three desks. The second floor contained the closed-in autopsy bay for Martha and the armoury and shooting range, which Johnson was in charge of. (Harry had gone all out on silencing wards on the shooting range, which allowed them to practise at all hours without a worry about who else might be in the building. Most of the team appreciated the ability to practise at all hours, though Harry, Lois, and Martha never used it – Harry was the only one who had never had to learn how to use a gun, though not from a lack of trying on Johnson's part.) The second floor also housed the toilets, showers and locker rooms for the female members of the team.

The third floor housed 'Sir Doctor', Mickey's shop, and 'The Host', Jack's shop. Since Jack's shop was never really open, he'd been able to use his entire shop as his office, as well as his quarters, and he'd managed to talk Harry into making the walls of said office glass, so he could always keep an eye on his people. Between his office and Mickey's technology-heavy workstation was the Rift monitor, which had been hooked up to a silent alarm of flashing lights and a quiet buzz that went off at each person's computer. The men's toilets, showers and locker rooms were up there, as well as the interrogation rooms and a second, closed-in conference room.

The fourth floor was Ianto's office, under the name 'MacLeish and Sons'. The fourth floor was also the archives, and Harry had used a number of strengthening spells on the floor to keep it from bowing under the weight. There were also some spells to make the archives bigger than they looked from the outside, which had made Ianto too happy for words.

Harry enjoyed his new job far more than he ever had his old one. He bonded with Lois on the first day over a box of doughnut holes and a thermos of tea, and spent evenings around the first floor conference table with Martha, Jack and, occasionally, Mickey, talking about people they'd met through the Doctor – both Martha and Jack had been a bit shocked to hear that the Doctor was travelling alone for a while, and had, almost in unison, berated Harry for holding on to his anger with the Doctor for so long. Every other day or so, Gwen would wander downstairs and ask Harry about parenting – he'd pointed out once that Jack had also been a dad, if she was looking for advice, but Gwen had just laughed at him – and they were joined at times by Martha and, surprisingly, Johnson. Mickey came down every Tuesday and sat with Harry for two hours, showing him things on the computer, since Harry hadn't grown up with computers and occasionally found himself confused about something.

Saturday evenings, barring Rift spit-ups or Weevil sightings, the entire team went out to the pub and made a nuisance of themselves. Jack would tell them bad stories about his sex life with various beings in various time frames and the rest of them would talk about their home lives or whatever they spent their free time doing. Inadvertently, someone would get up to sing some really bad karaoke or there would be a pub quiz and their team would trounce everyone else.

Sunday dinners, Harry usually tried to spend at the Burrow, since he no longer saw any of his family at work. Even though only Hermione had even the faintest idea of what he did for a living any more, everyone seemed to agree that Harry's new job was good for him, even if it was all the way down in Cardiff and had worse hours than the Department had.

-0-

Harry wasn't quite sure he knew what he was doing in front of the Rift monitor. Last he'd remembered, he'd been helping a customer in his shop.

Jack poked his head out of his office, looking horribly confused. "Harry? When did you get up here?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Harry replied, shaking his head and considering the display in front of him. It looked like the Rift monitor had always looked, but there was also something ever so slightly wrong about it. "Is it just me, or had the Rift monitor gone wacky?"

Jack hurried over to look and cursed under his breath. "That's three times the Rift has opened in the past..." He froze, staring at the numbers on the screen that Harry hadn't been able to decipher. "Shit. Forget everyone missing three Rift openings, how have we lost seventeen hours?"

"Jack?" came the terrified voice of Lois over Jack's comm., which was in his pocket for some inexplicable reason.

Jack shoved it back into his ear. "Lo, what can I do for you?"

"Look outside," Lois replied.

Harry and Jack traded worried looks, then made for the roof access in the archives, since it was closer than the backdoor on the first floor.

They came across a frowning Ianto in the archives, files everywhere. "Someone messed up my filing system," the young man complained, shaking a folder at them. "Did one of you two do it?"

"We don't even know where we've been for the past seventeen hours," Harry replied drily, grabbing Ianto's arm and leading him after Jack to the roof access. "Unless you know otherwise, we could very well have been up here, playing with your toys."

Jack leapt out onto the roof and let out a string of curses in about ten different languages. When Ianto and Harry got out there, they followed suit by cursing in as many languages as they knew – four for Harry, six for Ianto.

Up in the sky, pulling ever closer to the Earth, was a giant red planet which looked to be made of molten lava.

"Which planet is that?" Ianto asked, turning to Jack.

"I don't know," Jack replied. And he didn't know everything – he admitted it often enough over mysterious alien tech – but he felt as though he should have known that planet.

"That's Gallifrey," Harry whispered, bile in the back of his throat. He'd once seen a picture of the planet in one of the books in the Doctor's room. He hadn't been able to read the book, but he'd seen the planet and had asked the Doctor about it.

"But, how can Gallifrey be here?" Jack hissed. "It's been time-locked!"

Harry turned to him, eyes wide. "I don't know!" He pulled at his hair. "Both of you, what do you remember before waking up moments ago? I was helping a customer pick out some flowers for her mother, who's in hospital for the holidays with a nasty head cold."

"I was doing some last-minute work on my computer," Ianto supplied. "Reading through the reports from yesterday. Or two days ago, now. I was getting ready to go by Rhi's house," he finished, meaning his sister's home, which he visited every other holiday or so, work depending.

"I was reading a book and listening to a vinyl Tosh got me a few years ago for Christmas that we recovered in the old Hub," Jack said, frowning. "And then... there was this..."

"This face," Ianto said, pale with remembering. "It was laughing."

Harry's eyes widened as he, too, remembered the face. The terrible, laughing face. He turned around and dry-heaved on the roof, mind filled again with that horrible laugh and that face that shared space in his nightmares with dementors and the Daleks.

"Harry?" Jack whispered, gently touching his shoulder. When Harry looked up at him, he saw the knowledge in his too-old eyes.

"The Master," they whispered together.

"Jack? Harry?" Ianto knelt on Harry's other side, looking worried. "Who is it?"

"Another Time Lord, like the Doctor, except so much more cruel," Jack answered while Harry forced the face from his mind. "We met him, once. He should be dead."

"You said Time Lords could regenerate," Ianto whispered.

"He chose not to," Harry supplied, standing and staring up at the red planet above them. "And his face would have changed if he'd regenerated, but that was the same Master. But how could he have made us loose seventeen hours?"

"CCTV?" Ianto suggested.

"There's nothing we can do about the planet," Jack agreed.

Harry nodded and they all hurried back into the Hub. They went to Ianto's computer, since it was the nearest, and replayed the CCTV from the past seventeen hours.

"I don't know which is more terrifying," Harry said when they were done, "the idea that he was able to turn us into him, or the fact that I can't remember anything I did during that time."

"Just be glad the stupid drumbeat didn't stick," Jack suggested tiredly.

Harry shuddered. "The Master's drums in my head. Now there's one mental problem I _certainly_ don't want."

Ianto looked at them oddly, then glanced back towards the roof access. He blinked in surprise, then said, "It's leaving."

They all hurried to the doorway and watched as Gallifrey left back to the Time War. Jack solemnly saluted it and Harry did the same, thinking that it was the best he could do for his old friend's home world. The world that could never be again.

"Will you ever forgive him?" Jack asked, and Harry knew he meant the Doctor.

"I don't know," he replied. "Perhaps if he comes to me and apologises." He smiled sadly. "I'm not holding my breath." He turned back inside. "Well, I'm going to see if I can figure out what all I did to my computer. Also, see if there's anything to eat in the kitchen."

"Don't forget to make sure your shop is closed!" Ianto called after him and Harry waved his understanding.

-0-  
 **The following section differs, depending on where you're reading this. There is a lemon if you're reading on HPFandom Net, Archive of Our Own, or LiveJournal. On FFN, there is only a kiss.**  
-0-

Harry heard the sound behind him, but he didn't bother looking to see. It had been four days since Gallifrey had filled the sky and the Master controlled all of Earth. Since then, Martha and Jack had both admitted to having seen the Doctor, and he'd heard a rumour that the blue box had shown up near Sarah Jane's house, but he and Sarah Jane weren't really on good enough terms for him to ask her – they talked less since he'd joined Torchwood.

The Time Lord leaned against the railing next to him and they both stood there for a long moment in silence, watching the boats in the Bay. Harry had come to enjoy visiting Cardiff Bay during his lunch breaks, and since he could cast a decent warming charm, the cold never bothered him.

Harry was just getting ready to head back towards the Hub – he didn't have an unlimited time for lunch, after all – when the Doctor whispered, "I'm sorry."

Harry glanced over at him and took in the exhausted appearance. The strain around his eyes. "You're dying," he realised, heart in his throat.

The Doctor offered him a faint, tired smile. "Radiation poisoning. Slow but explosive, I've been told."

Harry sighed and rested his head against the Doctor's arm. "Will you visit again? Once you've changed."

"Of course I'll visit!"

Harry cocked an eyebrow at him and the Doctor turned away.

Harry closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said.

The Doctor wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Come inside for a bit?" he asked. "It's cold."

Harry nodded and let the Doctor lead him into the TARDIS. Everything was just as he'd remembered it, and he followed the Doctor back to his bedroom. There, next to the bed, the Doctor stopped them and turned and kissed Harry.

The kiss was somehow just like every kiss before, and yet nothing like a single kiss yet. It was filled with all the love and pain and wonder that was this Doctor, and Harry knew this kiss meant his time with the Doctor would soon be over. Soon, there would be a new face to get used to. New quirks.

But Harry wasn't ready to let go yet, and he reached up to slip the Doctor's jacket off. The Doctor seemed to understand – he always understood – and he helped Harry undress them both until they were naked and falling back onto the bed together. Their lips met again and Harry's hands roamed, wanting – _needing_ – to remember the man beneath him. Because, soon, this man would be gone.

This Doctor's right ear had always been terribly sensitive and Harry nibbled it, breathing into the shell. The Doctor gasped and sighed, muted responses because he was already tired.

Tired, but not done fighting. Never done fighting.

Harry had learned a lubrication spell years ago, back when he first realised that the Doctor didn't keep such things in the TARDIS. (Harry had always guessed that there would be plenty of lube in Jack's room, but he'd never checked. Never asked; Jack would claim to have hordes of the stuff and Harry would forever wonder if he'd been telling the truth or not.) He cast the spell now and the Doctor leaned up, helped him centre his opening over the Doctor's cock. He slid down, somehow never needing any stretching to fit the Doctor, as if it was a perfect match.

Harry sometimes wondered if the spell helped in any way with that. He'd never checked after looking it up the first time, never dared enough to go back to the bookshop and pull the book out again. He didn't need everyone wondering about his sex life.

The Doctor was content to let Harry set the pace, and Harry set it slow. He wanted to hold on to this moment forever. He wanted to keep this man with him until the moment they both could die. He wanted to spend eternity with this man, who could break his heart with his lonely smile and make him wait forever for his touch.

The Doctor reached up, took Harry's arms and oh, so gently, pulled him down. They kissed again and it was just as terrible and wonderful as the last.

Slow and steady, but never slow enough. It seemed like no time at all had passed and Harry was whispering his Doctor's name against lips soon to be gone. His own name whispered back.

They laid there for a time – Harry lost track, but the Doctor never would – and then they finally crawled out together and got dressed and walked back out into the sunshine glinting off the Bay.

Harry wondered how much overtime his lunch had taken.

"Here." The Doctor held out a box wrapped in a red ribbon.

Harry smiled. "What's this, then? You've already missed my birthday, you know."

The Doctor smiled back and it didn't seem quite so tired. "A Christmas gift. Slightly late, I know..." He shrugged, hands in his coat pockets like they'd protect him.

"Should I open it now?" Harry asked.

"If you like," the Doctor agreed.

Harry took the ribbon off carefully and stuffed it in a pocket – he'd always taken care with his gifts, never wanting to be like Dudley had been as a boy. He opened the lid and stared inside at a gentle silver leaf on a cord of leather. An impossible shatter of diamond seemed stuck in the leaf, making it glint even more in the sun. He looked up at the Doctor and whispered, "What is it?"

The Doctor gently took it from his hands and slipped it around Harry's neck, letting it hang safely inside his shirt. "Gallifrey was called here using a Whitepoint Star. A diamond. When I sent it back, I had to destroy the diamond. That was all that was left."

"Is it safe, then?" Harry asked, touching the leaf under his shirt.

The Doctor smiled at him. "Yes. They'd needed the Master, too, but he's gone. It's nothing but pieces of a pretty stone, now."

"Stuck in a silver leaf," Harry said, cocking an eyebrow. "A leaf just like on Gallifrey. Doctor."

The Doctor's cheeks looked almost pink for a moment, as if he'd been blushing. "It's something my people give as a promise," he admitted. "Usually, the diamond isn't broken, but I didn't have a lot to work with."

Harry nodded, considering him. "And what's this promise, then?"

The Doctor shrugged and spoke that phrase in Gallifreyan and, for the first time, the phrase was translated in his mind. Harry gave the TARDIS a surprised look and could have sworn, for just a moment, that the light piece on her top winked at him.

"I should leave. Couple more places to go," the Doctor said.

Harry nodded and took his tie, pulling the taller man down for a kiss. A last kiss full of goodbyes. An ending.

"I'll be back, Harry Potter," the Doctor promised, then turned and hurried back into the TARDIS.

Harry smiled to himself and touched the leaf under his shirt, trying out the Gallifreyan words that the Doctor always managed so flawlessly. His tongue stumbled over them and he sighed, shaking his head. He settled for the translation the TARDIS had given him, whispering it after the fading blue box, "Forever and throughout time, I will love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff... *headkeyboard*  
> I don't know where the bloody necklace came from. It just sort of wrote itself.  
> Also, wrote that bit while rather exhausted. Any lack of sense can be blamed on that.


End file.
